Currumbin by-election 2020: Deb Frecklington says candidate Laura Gerber picked after ‘very rigorous preselection’
Queensland LNP leader Deb Frecklington has laughed off reports about Currumbin candidate Laura Gerber’s driving history and reality TV show appearance.
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QUEENSLAND Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington has laughed off reports about Currumbin candidate Laura Gerber’s reality TV spot and driving history.
Ms Gerber appeared on Channel 7 show Australia’s Worst Driver in 2003 while she was studying to be a lawyer.
It came after Ms Gerber was caught speeding, placed on a restricted licence and involved in a number of crashes, which she said were “minor prangs and a minor accident”.
Ms Gerber, selected despite an outcry from outgoing MP Jann Stuckey and some LNP branch members, spoke alongside Ms Frecklington at Currumbin yesterday.
Ms Frecklington said Ms Gerber underwent a “very rigorous preselection process” when a reporter asked about the TV show.
She smiled and joked as she spoke about her candidate’s quirky experience.
“But what I can say in relation to that TV show, I’m so pleased to have Laura Gerber on my team given she was taught how to drive by (Australian motorsport icon) Dick Johnson,” she said.
“I in actual fact have asked Laura to get me Dick’s number so I can get him to teach my daughters how to drive. Now I’ve often said, but I’ve got two P-platers and a learner driver and I can tell you my 19-year-old I think would benefit from a lesson from Dick Johnson.”
Asked if reports about the TV show would hurt her chances in the yet-to-be-announced by-election, Ms Gerber said “not at all” and pointed to her youth at the time.
“I was 19 years old. I learnt to drive by Dick Johnson on the show,” she said.
“It’s actually not even my focus right now. My focus is on doing what I can for the people of Currumbin. And that, for me, means a stronger economy so we can build better schools, invest in better schools and hospitals.”
Ms Gerber, a 35-year-old mum-of-two, has worked with firm Attwood Marshall, as a federal prosecutor and now works for the Office of Health Ombudsman.
Originally published as Currumbin by-election 2020: Deb Frecklington says candidate Laura Gerber picked after ‘very rigorous preselection’
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