The ALP started the election campaign looking to regain some of the losses in Queensland from the 2010 and 2013 elections, but it is now genuinely worried about holding on to three key marginal seats at the July 2 poll.

The Brisbane seats of Moreton, Griffith and Lilley – held by Graham Perrett, rising star Terri Butler and former deputy prime minister and treasurer Wayne Swan – are at risk of being lost to the Liberal National Party which is also trying to hold on to its big swag of seats in the crucial battleground state of Queensland.