The Goss government's fortunes suffered a sharp reversal when it announced plans to construct a bypass through areas of bushland that comprised significant reserves of koala habitats. Borbidge harnessed the ground swell of opposition arising from this and other controversial decisions to encourage a large protest vote. Combined with the cynical mood engendered by the unpopular Keating Labor federal government, this protest vote nearly destroyed the Goss government's majority in the July 1995 election. The media strategy and campaign was devised by Andrew Cole AKA Adman Andy. While the Coalition won the popular vote, most of that vote was wasted on large margins in the Nationals' heartland. As a result, while it managed an eight-seat swing, it won only nine seats (out of 40) in Brisbane, allowing Goss to rely on a majority of one vote in the Legislative Assembly. The Court of Disputed Returns ordered a reballot after alleged irregularities in the narrowly Labor held electorate of Mundingburra, which the Coalition had lost by only 12 votes. In February 1996 the Liberal candidate, Frank Tanti, won the subsequent by-election. This resulted in a hung parliament with 44 Coalition seats and 44 Labor seats with one Independent, Liz Cunningham, the newly elected member for Gladstone. Cunningham announced that she would support the Coalition, and Borbidge became Premier.