Tracey,

At last count Labor's Di Farmer was leading by 17 votes. There are about 1800 votes to come (All Sat votes).

Prepoll and postal vote counts went LNP's, Aaron Dillaways way significantly. The 1000 Absentee votes counted Friday saw a gain of 75 to Dillaway and reduced Farmers lead to a mere 17. It has been trending toward Dillaway all week.

Most of the Saturday booth counts in Bulimba went slightly LNP, with Bulimba, Rudd's most significant Griffith booth heavily.

It is more likely the remaining votes will fall slightly in favour of Dillaway.

I am scruitineering.

Bulimba has been held by the ALP for 80 years.

Can Labour recover? it's a good question and several Labour stalwarts, including Paul Keating have been rushing into print to answer it. I haven't got an answer but I'd suggest the following areas to look.

Labour is being eaten alive by the Greens who will never, in the end, be satisfied. The inner urban pseudo left is not Labour's genuine constituency. The middle classes in the suburbs are. Re-connect with them. Remember the Greens are the pseudo-left. They see people as the problem.

Without the socialist objective, the ALP is struggling for a coherent political theory with which to describe itself. Aspirational politics has overtaken wealth distribution as the key direction for all parties. Think about how to connect with that reality.

Reform the party's structures and power bases. Every time a 'faceless man' appears on TV, the electorate becomes more cynical about the ALP.

Finally, stop talking about reform when you mean introducing a new tax. If the ALP goes to the next election with the carbon tax and the current Prime Minister, they'll suffer the Queensland fate - except in Victoria.

'If the ALP goes to the next election with the carbon tax and the current Prime Minister, they'll suffer the Queensland fate - except in Victoria.'

Not necessarily so.

In Qld they've achieved 26.5% first preference.

If they go to the polls, federally now, and run on the basis of 'Who do you trust?...'

They'll give an excuse to many of those labor voters who are currently dseserting them, to vote ALP.

They'll easily get 30-32%

THe ALP is no longer fighting to win elections ... it's fighting them for it's survival.
The hardheads, if there are any left, will know that.

In Bulimba it is less than a handful with 200 to count.

CanDo Newman will ensure that the Labor party survives and flourishes.

Newman has made pure political appointments of Lib/Nat mates and powerbrokers, (please don't bother pointing out Anna Bligh's husbands role as he has been a long time public servant and it could be argued that he worked his way up), sidled up to the police union and owes debts owed to the likes of Clive Palmer.

I believe Queensland will see a return of the Joh era of a police state, secret police files, the white shoe brigade of dodgy developers. I am just waiting for the likes of Ben Williams, son of Keith Williams one of the white shoe brigade, to get a taxpayer funded hand out from the state for damages to the private development of Port Hinchinbrook from cyclone Yasi.

Environmental degradation, anti-worker policies, police control, loss of the right to protest, dodgy development approvals (oh that's right there were some very questionable development approvals while Newman was Lord Mayor of Bris - and dodge donations).

Labor will have to reinvent itself to democratise and start to value its grass roots, but the performance of Newman and co will guarantee its survival

Continuing Aka's post on the Joh era;

Hospitals that work;
Hospitals that are free, & service outpatients;
Hospitals you can get into when required;
No debt;
Public servants super fully covered;
The country people given reasonable services.
Oh yes please, wouldn't it be wonderful. I'm sure Newman is good, but I doubt he's that good.