ScoMo goes on surprise QLD offensive

Prime Minister Scott Morrison returns to Queensland for the second time in a week in a campaign blitz targeting two seats.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will touch down in Queensland today in a campaign blitz hitting two marginal Labor-held seats, going on a surprise offensive to finish of the year.

He will be announcing the creation of a new truck driving apprenticeship in a bid to head off a critical shortage of drivers which could cause havoc in supply chains and getting deliveries of food, medicines and packages in on time.

Mr Morrison will focus on two seats in Brisbane, Lilley which is Labor’s most marginal seat in the state and being contested for the LNP by a former sniper, as well as the multicultural seat of Moreton.

He is also expected to heading to the LNP’s under-threat seat of Longman, north of Brisbane, this week.

Mandarin-speaking Brisbane councillor Steven Huang will be announced as the candidate for Moreton, and has been endorsed by former lord mayor turned auctioneer Graham Quirk.

It is the Prime Minister’s second trip to Queensland since its borders reopened a week ago, matching Opposition leader Anthony Albanese, as the state’s continues to play a key role in electoral fortunes.

Last week Mr Morrison visited two LNP-held electorates seeking to shore up support in city-based Ryan and Brisbane, which were the only two Queensland seats to see a swing against the Coalition in 2019.

In a change of tack, the seats Mr Morrison will hit today are marginally-held by Labor, with Lilley on 0.7 per cent and Moreton on 2 per cent.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce a new national apprenticeship for truck drivers and heavy vehicle operators.

An insider said the seats were seen as the opportunities for the Coalition in Queensland, which already hit a high water mark of 23 out of 30 seats in 2019 but is seeing a challenge in seats like Flynn and Longman.

Moreton has been held by popular Labor MP Graham Perrett since Kevin Rudd stormed to victory in 2007, but was predominantly an LNP seat prior to that.

Just over half its population was born overseas and more than 10 per cent of the electorate speaks Mandarin and another 3.5 per cent speak Cantonese.

Meanwhile, Mr Morrison will announce a new national apprenticeship for truck drivers and heavy vehicle operators, a Certificate III in Driving Operations, in a bid prevent a worker shortage in the industry.

Mr Morrison said once states add the apprenticeship to their training programs, existing Commonwealth funding for apprenticeships and training will flow through to fund it.

“Our trucking sector drives our economy and there couldn’t be a more important job than getting food on the table to millions of families or delivering Covid-19 vaccines to doctors, hospitals and pharmacies across Australia,” he said.

There are currently no apprenticeships for truck driving, just a certificate course, and there is an issues with the ageing workforce.

The 2019 Skills Forecast developed by the Transport and Logistics Industry Reference Committee found more than 80 per cent of employers reported skills shortages for heavy vehicle drivers, with reasons including an ageing workforce, industry’s poor image, training costs and time frames.