 Historically, the lack of an upper house, a former gerrymander favouring rural electoral districts as well as the former system of optional preferential voting has meant that Queensland had a long tradition of domination by strong-willed, populist premiers, often accused of authoritarian tendencies, holding office for long periods.This tendency was exemplified by the government of the state's longest-serving Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen.Local government is the mechanism by which local government areas can manage their own affairs to the extent permitted by the Local Government Act 2009.