With no presence in Australia’s mainland government, the country’s conservative political forces face their most significant challenge in years: winning back the trust and reversing the drift in its voting base.

Queensland Opposition leader David Crisafulli and veteran journalist Kerry O’Brien discuss the vision he has for the future of Queensland as he leads his “centre-right” political party towards election in October 2024.

This conversation is an instalment of Griffith University and HOTA’s event series, A Better Future for All, examining the most pressing issues facing politics in Queensland and more broadly.

Join Kerry and David for this thought-provoking dive into the aspirations of contemporary conservative politics and their leaders, at a time when Australia’s traditional two-party system is under its most serious challenge.

David Crisafulli

Born and raised in North Queensland, David Crisafulli understands better than most the diverse—and often sharply defined—political landscape that runs the length of Australia’s second-largest state.

A former journalist in both his home town of Ingham and Far North Queensland’s de facto capital, Townsville, David has spent the past 20 years forging a successful political career on local and state stage alike.

Following early roles working as an advisor to the Howard Government and Townsville City Council, in 2004 he was elected as the youngest Townsville Councillor in history. In 2008 he was elected as Deputy Mayor of the City before entering the Queensland Parliament as the member for the northern seat of Mundingburra in 2012.

Upon entering Parliament, David was sworn in as the State’s Minister for Local Government. In 2013 he also took on the portfolio of Community Recovery and Resilience, guiding Queensland and the government response following major natural disasters including the 2013 Bundaberg floods.

After his stint in the then-LNP government from 2012 to 2015, David—the son of sugarcane farmers and small business owners himself—relocated his family and established a small business offering planning and government strategy advice from his new home base on the northern Gold Coast.

In 2017 David re-entered Parliament and for the past five years has served as the member for Broadwater.

Since 2017 David has been Queensland’s Shadow Minister for Environment, Science and the Great Barrier Reef as well as Tourism.

In 2020 he became Queensland Opposition Leader and Leader of the LNP. He continues to serve in his tourism role as well as Shadow Minister for Olympics and Paralympics.