Queensland election: what you need to know

Gold Coast MP Ray Stevens drew ridicule when, rather than speaking, he flapped his arms and contorted his hand to resemble a beak when confronted by a reporter. He chose not to answer questions about his role as an investor in, and adviser to, a consortium of businessmen proposing to build a $100 million cable car in the Gold Coast hinterland.

In contrast, radio host Alan Jones was as voluble as ever. His critiques from Sydney – broadcast into Queensland during the campaign – of Premier Campbell Newman and Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney resulted in the state's top politicians lodging a defamation claim in the Brisbane Supreme Court. Jones took umbrage at the government's decision to approve the expansion of the Acland Coal Mine into agricultural land west of Brisbane.

Jones contended Mr Newman promised before the 2012 election to oppose the expansion. Mr Newman dismissed Mr Jones's claims as "utterly untrue" and headed for the courts. Clive Palmer immediately weighed in, offering to pay Jones' legal costs.

Jones' friend Tony Abbott – seen by his state Coalition colleagues as an electoral deadweight – was conspicuous by his absence.

Labor Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk suggested the hubbub meant that "Operation Boring" – LNP insiders' nickname for its government's strategy to stay on message – was officially over.

Since the election was called on January 6, the main parties have run small-target campaigns characterised by frugal spending and dominated by debate over the economy, jobs, rules on declaring political donations and whether the state should offload publicly owned ports and energy assets.

With Queenslanders heading to the polling booths on January 31, here are the things you should know:

Where the parties stand:

This could hardly be more different than three years ago. Led by a man without a seat in Queensland Parliament, the LNP then scored a thumping victory, winning 78 of 89 seats.

Labor was relegated to a maxi-taxi-sized contingent of seven members, though it regained two south-east Queensland seats in byelections in 2014.

Defections trimmed the LNP's parliamentary team further. Today, the LNP holds 73 seats, Labor nine, Katter's Australian Party three and there are four independents.

Polls:

The key battlegrounds will be the state's south-east corner and north.

And the latest Newspoll suggests an extraordinary swing to Labor of up to 13 per cent in LNP-held regional seats Ipswich West, Keppel and Cairns. To win, Labor needs a uniform swing of more than 12 per cent. But a significantly smaller swing would cost Mr Newman his seat of Ashgrove, a residential area north-east of Brisbane's central business district.

The challenger is Labor's Kate Jones, who lost the seat in 2012. A poll of 847 Ashgrove voters on January 13 by ReachTEL put Labor ahead 53-47.

Statewide, the LNP holds a 52-48 lead, according to a ReachTEL poll on January 20. If uniform, that would give the LNP 45 seats, Labor 39 and there would be five crossbenchers.

Other polls taken since the election was called have generated similar results, raising the possibility of the LNP winning the election but losing its leader.

In the event of a hung parliament, both main party leaders have ruled out deals with crossbenchers to form a minority government.

For the premier, it has been an extraordinary tumble since the high of 2012.

"Why are people responding in that particular way?" Mr Newman asked himself rhetorically recently.

"Well, we have had to make difficult decisions, strong decisions. But we are getting the state back on track, because we have done these things, and I believe in the campaign there is an opportunity for people to do the compare and contrast."

Among the Newman government's most controversial decisions were deep cuts to the public service, a crackdown on bikies that stopped them meeting at club houses or elsewhere and steps that led to accusations they had politicised their dealings with the judiciary.

Minor parties:

Queensland has its share of colourful politicians – serial candidate Pauline Hanson, mining magnate Clive Palmer and Federal MP Bob Katter – at the helm of minor parties.

This time, Ms Hanson is a long-shot to win Lockyer, a rural seat stretching between Ipswich and Toowoomba west of Brisbane. And the Palmer United Party faces an uphill battle to win a seat despite fielding 50 candidates. Mr Katter's Australia Party has has focused on regional areas only, running male candidates in 11 seats. The party's three existing MPs, including Mr Katter's son Rob, are running again.

Polls suggest the Greens vote will be in the single digits, as in 2012.

The campaign:

One word has dominated the LNP's bid for re-election – strong. Mr Newman said it, and variations on it , more than 30 times at the LNP campaign launch.

At Labor's campaign launch, Ms Palaszczuk delivered a six-word pitch. "Labor will not sell your assets."

The fate of state-owned assets has been hotly contested. The LNP says it will offer up to 99-year leases for public assets including ports, water pipelines and electricity generators transmission and distribution networks and retailers. It estimates the sale would raise $37 billion, with about $3.4 billion earmarked for "cost of living relief". Labor says it will amalgamate five electricity agencies into two, saving $150 million annually, but not privatise

To date, it is estimated Labor has committed about $1 for every $4 promised by the LNP.