Opinion: Perplexing mystery over this bloke’s political ambitions

What led this ‘disregarded’ LNP MP to the conclusion that he’s ministerial material is an absolute mystery to me and some of his colleagues, writes Steven Wardill.

SO Colin Boyce, an MP whose political achievements so far are best summed up as modest, has decreed that he’s destined for greater things.

Just 66 days after being re-elected to his sprawling western Queensland electorate of Callide for four years, the second-term MP wants out.

Col from Callide has publicly declared he’ll be seeking preselection for the Federal seat of Flynn, where current member Ken O’Dowd is apparently retiring.

The former boilermaker and farmer reckons he’d be better able to represent the interests of rural Queensland from Canberra than his current position on the outer reaches of the state opposition’s backbench.

Boyce has also taken a veiled pot shot at LNP Leader David Crisafulli for failing to recognise his talent and promote him to the frontbench.

What’s driven Col from Callide to the conclusion that he’s ministerial material is a mystery to me.

And I’ve been covering Queensland politics for almost 20 years.

Some of his colleagues are equally perplexed.

Callide MP Colin Boyce.

According to some of them, the last time Boyce came to anyone’s attention outside his immediate family was in August last year when he voted against his own side which isn’t traditionally a qualification for advancement in politics.

He’d taken umbrage at the Government’s creation of a rehabilitation commissioner, a role that’s proven so innocuous thus far that it hasn’t even been filled.

“It’s like Col woke up after three years and realised an election was around the corner and he hasn’t done anything,” one prominent Opposition figure observed at the time.

Still Boyce seems to believe he’s the best judge of his own political success and he’s given himself two thumbs up for the 24 per cent primary swing he snared on October 31.

He reckons Crisafulli has “chosen to disregard my efforts” and now “there’s not much I can do from there”.

Maybe it was Boyce’s prowess as a local MP that saw the good people of Callide flock to his cause.

Or maybe, just maybe, the result had something to do with the fact neither One Nation nor Katter’s Australian Party contested the seat this time around after gaining over 39 per cent of the primary vote in 2017.

Federal Member for Flynn Ken O'Dowd. Picture: Rodney Stevens

Call me a cynic but in an electorate like Callide, triumphantly claiming the 2020 swing as a personal success after that pair of minor parties didn’t run seems akin to celebrating winning a beauty contest when you’re the only participant.

Regardless, Col from Callide reckons he’d be in a better position to champion rural Queensland from the Morrison government backbench.

“Mining, resources and agriculture are paying the bills for the Queensland government,” he said. “But they’re pretty much ignoring that, spending money to support the tertiary sector, mainly public servants.”

Now I’ll grant him the latter about the Palaszczuk administration and public servants but I’ve got no clue what he’s talking about with his gripe about tertiary spending.

But the pertinent question for our Col is what happens if the LNP preselectors also don’t recognise his talents?

He’s already declared he’ll quit his state seat if he’s successful.

But surely its untenable for Col to stay on in Callide if he doesn’t win Federal preselection given he’s already declared he’s done all he can to advance his ambitions and could do the job of representing rural Queensland better if he was given another job?

It would certainly be an ideal opportunity for the LNP to refresh its western Queensland ranks.

Who knows, there may even be a woman living somewhere between the Bunya Mountains and Banana Shire willing to represent the party.

State MP for Callide Colin Boyce. Picture: Sam Turner

Callide has a proud history of electing MPs who made big contributions over long careers.

Before Col there was Jeff Seeney, a formidable parliamentarian who served as Deputy Premier and Opposition Leader during his 19-year political career.

Before Seeney there was Di McCauley, someone who really did have to fight to have their talent recognised, which she wrote about in her memoir, Diving off the Ironing Board.

She served on Parliament’s Refreshment Rooms Committee when first elected under Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s reign before rising up the ranks to become a minister under Rob Borbidge.

But after a single term in politics, Col reckons it’s his time to shine, that bigger things beacon one way or another.

In a profession like politics, where there’s often little correlation between capacity and success, anything can happen.

But after a three year career of inconsequence, Col from Callide is coming off looking like just another legend in his own lunchtime.