Thousands of voters in Gympie and Maryborough line up to vote early
It was not all about the local candidates when early voters queued in Maryborough and Gympie on Tuesday, but more about the major parties and the leaders at their helm. What influences your vote the most? Vote in our poll:
Gympie
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A record number of Australians have already cast their vote at pre-polling booths ahead of this Saturday’s federal election, including almost 24,000 people in Wide Bay.
By Tuesday morning, 7492 votes had been cast in Gympie, 6632 in Maryborough, 8479 in Tewantin and 775 in Coolum, and hundreds more were lining up to vote before May 5.
It was a chilly morning in Gympie after a minimum of 14 degrees, but clear blue skies at the Senior Citizens Centre kept things comfortable as the lengthy queue of early voters remained until about 11am.
Exit polls in Gympie and Maryborough indicated an unsurprising LNP victory, with 44 voters polled in Gympie and 25 in Maryborough, and both recording a majority of LNP votes.
Of the 44 voters in Gympie, 18 indicated they had voted LNP, 11 ALP, 7 One Nation, 3 Family First, 2 People First, and one vote each went to the Greens, Australian Democrats and the Animal Justice Party.
Of the 25 polled at the Maryborough Pensioners Association, 10 indicated they had voted LNP, 6 ALP, 5 One Nation, 3 Trumpet of Patriots, and one Independent.
Voter Carol Gillam said she voted for Labor because she believed the party needed another three years to get in place everything it had been working towards.
“The cost of living is on everybody’s lips but it wasn’t actually the driver for me,” she said.
“I think it’s the decency of Albanese.
“I think he’s a decent man and I like what he is doing in relation to crime and trying to involve First Nations people as well but mainly for the seniors as well.
“I think he had more in mind for seniors.”
One Nation candidate Chad Burgess said from outside the Maryborough Pensioners Association, he was “tired” but the campaign had been “good fun”.
He cited the cost of living as the biggest issue, and said the vibe from voters in Gympie and Maryborough had been “mostly positive”.
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