The incumbent premier of Queensland won a third consecutive term in Australian state elections in which voters strongly endorsed her government’s tough policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including closing state borders. Annastacia Palaszczuk, dubbed the “accidental premier” when she came to power unexpectedly in 2015, became the first female Australian political leader to win three consecutive elections. Results on Sunday with 63.2% of votes counted showed a 5.2% swing in favor of Palaszczuk’s center-left Labor party, which had won 40.6% of the vote, ahead of the main opposition Liberal National coalition with 35.6%.
