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A terse stand-off between Queensland’s premier and a pro-Palestine advocate-turned-independent candidate marked the start of the Stafford byelection, as thousands flocked to booths across the inner-city electorate on Saturday.
A video shared to social media shows candidate Liam Parry confronting David Crisafulli over his government’s hate speech laws at a polling booth in Chermside, where the premier was handing out flyers on Saturday morning.
Parry, who is running as an independent backed by the newly formed Queensland Socialists, and was the first Queensland person arrested for using a phrase banned under the new laws, can be seen approaching the premier and asking why he is locking up Palestine activists.
“For saying six words – you can go to jail for two years for saying six words?” Parry said.
“Is there anyone you guys don’t want to lock up? You want to lock up 10-year-old kids, Palestine activists…”
Crisafulli responded by repeatedly telling the candidate “not today, mate”, as a staffer intervened and said the premier was too busy to discuss Parry’s concerns.
“He’s busy? I’m busy … being dragged through court by you and your government,” Parry replied.
“Are you going to ban other phrases … are you going to ban me from criticising you?
“Shame on you.”
Parry told this masthead he had never seen the premier in person before, and seized the opportunity to confront him.
“I was going past the booth to check on how the volunteers are going … and I saw him,” Parry said.
“I like it when people call out politicians, so I thought I’d have a go myself.”
Parry said he wasn’t surprised by Crisafulli’s refusal to engage in discussion about his government’s hate speech laws, which outlawed several popular pro-Palestine phrases, including “globalise the intifada” and “from the river to the sea”.
“I thought it was telling that he basically had nothing to say and didn’t even want to talk about it, which I think is pretty ridiculous, given that he’s trying to put me and a bunch of other Palestine activists into prison,” Parry said.
A spokesperson for Crisafulli said the government stood by the laws, introduced to crack down on antisemitism and terrorism following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack last year.
The incident occurred about 8am on Saturday at the Chermside Kedron Community Church, where Crisafulli spent the morning handing out flyers and speaking to voters.
About an hour later, Labor candidate Luke Richmond cast his vote at the Little Flower Church hall in Kedron.
The Stafford seat was previously held by former Labor MP Jimmy Sullivan, who turned independent after being expelled from the party last year. Sullivan died suddenly in April, triggering the byelection.
Richmond was an early favourite to secure the seat for Labor, in the first test of Crisafulli’s leadership since the LNP won power in the 2024 state election.
“There is a general sense that this LNP government has been all talk and no action, and people are really sick of the broken promises,” Richmond said at a press conference on Saturday.
Richmond, a lawyer with a health policy background, said health, housing and cost-of-living pressures were the biggest issues in his electorate, and were at the forefront of Labor’s campaign during the byelection.
The LNP announced former Brisbane city councillor Fiona Hammond as its representative last month.
Crisafulli acknowledged the LNP were underdogs heading into the byelection, but said he was confident in the “really good-quality candidate” put forward.
“We’ve done a campaign based on our record rather than a scare campaign, and people are responding pretty well,” he told Nine News on Saturday.
“Historically, swings against governments in byelections are to the tune of double digits – about a 20 per cent swing.
“We’re realistic about a modest swing away from us, I think that’s probably an indication that we are doing the things that we said.
“We’re still well and truly the underdog, but we’ve had a go.”
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