Queensland Nationals leader Lawrence Springborg has been working on a strategy to take back power from the ALP for the past seven years. But how can Springborg - already a two-time loser to the ALP machine - position himself for a third pitch against the ALP, with a new, and popular, Premier?

Making his first speech as leader-elect of the amalgamated Liberal National Party (LNP), Lawrence Springborg heralded a “new model of government” in Queensland - a model “more resilient and more rewarding”.

The new merged entity will be named the Liberal National Party. The vote proceeded as originally planned after legal action yesterday overturned a Thursday evening decision by the Liberal’s state council to postpone the merger poll indefinitely. The decision must now be ratified by the federal Liberal Party.