He had been planning to wait until the following month, but the retirement of fellow Labor MP Ray Hollis and the resulting cabinet reshuffle caused him to bring forward his own resignation.
[1] Labor chose school teacher Chris Forrester to defend the seat they'd held for the previous 28 years.
[2] The Liberal Party chose Brisbane City Councillor—and so-called "factional warrior"[3]—Michael Caltabiano as their candidate.
[4] The by-election win of Michael Caltabiano, along with that of Terry Rogers in Redcliffe, was a flip for the Liberal Party, who increased their numbers in the Legislative Assembly from five to seven.
However, the Liberal Party's hold on these two seats did not last long; both returned to the Labor fold at the 2006 state election.