Health, youth issues, roads and more on the agenda during the 2024 Queensland elections
Created during the 1950s, the electorate of Callide has been a conservative stronghold for most of its existence but candidates from Labor, the Greens, Family First, One Nation and an independent will look to challenge incumbent LNP member Bryson Head at this year’s election.
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The 2024 Queensland election has started, and candidates across the electorate of Callide have started making their pitches to voters before polling day on October 26.
To learn more about the candidates who are vying for your vote on election day, read more here.
Bryson Head (Liberal National)
The incumbent member Bryson Head will once again be running for parliament after he was first elected in 2022.
The Liberal MP said his background in agriculture and mining, as well as his prior term in office, placed him in good stead to help the communities that fall under in Callide.
“I am a boy born and raised near Brigalow in the Darling Downs so beef and grain enterprise, I went on to study geology and worked in the coal mines in NSW and Queensland,” he said.
“Callide is obviously very primary industry focused, a lot of agriculture, a lot of mining and a lot of resources and in that respect I feel like I fit the electorate pretty well with that diverse primary industry background, the experience I have there and what I bring to parliament.
“It takes a lot of relationships in this role to work with the hundreds of community groups across Callide, it takes a long time to understand each community and its intricacies and challenges and that’s the experience I’ve been gathering. There's a lot of work that I’ve started that I want to keep taking forward.
“The experience over the last couple of years has been fantastic and I am hoping to be re-elected to continue that great work.”
Mr Head said health and roads were two of his key priorities.
“I have been talking and fighting a lot for more health services in the bush and in our rural communities, we certainly need easier access to health services,” he said.
“Across Callide, an area larger than the state of Tasmania, we have 14 hospitals and we don't have a single maternity ward. It is critical for our families and the future of our communities we restore maternity services in rural Queensland as well as ensuring access to basic health services.
“I do a lot of driving and know about the state of our roads and getting appropriate funding for our roads so people can drive along them and not have to dodge potholes is another priority of mine.”
Mr Head said despite being in an LNP stronghold he would fight to ensure his electorate got the support it needed from the state government.
“I am not one to hold back, as the member for Callide my electorate comes first and regardless if it is an LNP government or not I will be fighting, but I know the best outcomes will comes with an LNP government,” he said.
“I am the youngest member of the Queensland parliament and that bring a fresh perspective and energy and I am passionate about the future of the electorate and I want to see great things for Callide.”
Samantha Dendle (Labor)
A fresh face for Labor, Samantha Dendle was born in central Queensland and said she wants to deliver cost of living relief, quality healthcare closer to home and better jobs.
On her Labor profile, the 2024 Banana Shire Young Australian of the Year and 2023’s YMCA’s Queensland Youth parliament deputy premier said she would fight for education and health care, and believed Labor was on the right track with its investment of $3.5m to refresh the hospital and support care models in Chinchilla.
She also said the Miles Labor government would back local workers through the energy and jobs plans to ensure workers at Callide Power Station could transition into clean energy jobs of the future.
On her profile Ms Dendle also says she is also an advocate for youth development.
Christopher O’Callaghan (One Nation)
A fabrication tradie and a self-employed contractor constructing water treatment plants in Cardwell, Christopher O'Callaghan believed the major parties were “going in the wrong direction” and it was time to “stand up and change the way Australia has been going”.
The One Nation candidate said renewable energy and issues surrounding youth crime, education and health would be his priorities, should he be elected.
“My first priority is to get a handle on the renewables, it is all well and good for the environment but I can't see where it ends with how much we are paying for it. I think we need to go to coal and look at nuclear options,” he said.
“I’ll also be looking at everything to do with youth from law and order, to health and education. They are our future and I think the government is lacking in a lot of places where the youth are involved.”
Mr O’Callaghan said he would be taking a grassroots approach to secure the region’s future for his children and the children of those in his electorate.
“I’ll bring honesty and transparency, I want everyone to have a voice and be heard. The major parties just run with what they run with and ignore everything else and eventually everyone's voice disappears to nothing,” he said.
“There are a lot of issues out here in the community some are big some are little but they need to be sorted out, there's a lot of government departments not functioning as best as they could and I see a lot of money getting wasted on things that don't happen.
“I’m like everyone else out here in the community I want to see the best for my kids growing up and I’ll be honest and get to the bottom of everything. I’m approachable, I will always be out in the community finding out what's going on and find grass routes solution to problems.”
Matthew Passant (Greens)
Matthew Passant’s candidate profile on the Greens page said he was standing on the party’s statewide policies of rent and mortgage relief, and cost of living pressure.
“I can see that many people are struggling. Rent and mortgages are through the roof, housing is too expensive and basic groceries cost a fortune. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Greens have a plan to tackle and solve these issues,” he wrote.
“We will take on the big corporations that are ripping off Queenslanders. We’ll make them pay their fair share and use that money to build 100,000 public homes, fully fund schools and free childcare, hospitals and essential services.
“We’ll also freeze rents and cap increases. The Greens will make groceries cheaper by breaking up the duopoly power of Coles and Woolies and stopping corporate price gouging for essentials.
“We’ll cut power bills with 100 per cent publicly owned renewable energy, and take back control of our economy by bringing key infrastructure and services into public ownership. We’ll make public transport more frequent and free. The Greens don’t take corporate donations like Labor and the LNP do, so I’ll work for you, not vested interests.”
No details about Mr Passant’s background are listed on the Greens website.
John Whittle (Family First Party)
On the Family First Party’s profile site, Mr Whittle said he believed in the party’s values of strong families, freedom of faith, and protecting the most vulnerable.
Some of Mr Whittle’s key priorities included “opposing abortion and euthanasia, combating harmful gender ideologies and protecting children from radical indoctrination in schools and helping to ensure that Australians can freely practice their faith without fear of discrimination or persecution”.
No details about John Whittle’s background are available on the Family First website.
Duncan Scott (Independent)
An independent candidate who has run for the seat of Flynn at every election since it was established in 2007, except in 2015 when he ran for Callide, Duncan Scott will again look to run in Callide.
A former dairy farmer who has lived at Wowan his whole life, Mr Scott has worked in the forestry industry and has served in the Army Reserve for the past 25 years.
When Mr Scott spoke to the Observer during his last election run in the Flynn electorate he said he wanted to take a more grassroots approach to community issues.
“I want to try and promote to do things locally and for ourselves instead of waiting for handouts from the government,” he said.
“It’s better to sort it out ourselves – that way we know it’s going to get done, I’m only here to make the others work harder.
“We (independents) can bring real, down to earth, life experience to parliament that is not tainted by party politics. We maybe not as talented, make more mistakes, but we are genuinely interested in the community.
During his last election run Mr Scott told the Observer his key priorities were “education for the younger generation, climate change and how it affects the cost of living and concerns around the interference of state and federal government in everyday life”.
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Find out where, when and how to vote in the Callide electorate ahead of the October 26 Queensland election. FREE STORY.
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