Newman will quit City Hall in bid to become Premier

In a shock move Campbell Newman today announced he would resign as Lord Mayor of Brisbane in a bid to become Premier of Queensland.

Cr Newman is seeking preselection as Liberal National Party candidate in the state seat of Ashgrove, held by Labor minister Kate Jones.

The parliamentary LNP has accepted Campbell Newman as their leader, despite the fact he will not enter Parliament unless he defeats Ms Jones at the next election.

State Opposition leader John Paul Langbroek and his deputy Lawrence Springborg announced their resignations from leadership positions shortly after Cr Newman’s announcement, while former National Party leader Jeff Seeney was appointed caretaker LNP parliamentary leader.

Current deputy mayor Graham Quirk is front-runner to replace Cr Newman as Lord Mayor.

Opposition leader in the Brisbane City Council Shayne Sutton accused Cr Newman of plotting behind the scenes with faceless LNP power-brokers to secure his own political future instead of continuing the job of helping Brisbane recover from January’s devastating floods.

Commentary: A new way of doing politics?

Video extras:

Question time: Cr Sutton asks Cr Newman how long he has been working behind the scenes to secure his political future instead of working on flood reconstruction; Cr Newman says he has been working tirelessly to rebuild Brisbane.

Question time: Cr Sutton asks Cr Newman if he is “cutting and running” from Brisbane; Cr Newman responds in kind, describing Labor as “no can dos”.

The Lord Mayor announces his intentions to Brisbane City councillors.

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