NQ candidates showcase their campaign cars and their stories
You can tell a lot about a person by the car they drive, and political candidates are no exception. From flashy Teslas to old workhorses, peek under the hood of these campaign cars and discover stories revealing more about them than party colours.
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You can tell a lot about a person by the car they drive, and political candidates are no exception.
From flashy Teslas to old workhorses, peek under the hood of these campaign cars and discover stories revealing more about them than party colours.
Reuben Richardson – Tesla
Sporting a grey Tesla Model 3 with his face and name on the side, Katter’s Australian Party candidate for Thuringowa Reuben Richardson’s vehicle is hard to miss.
Also the owner of a Prado on its “last legs”, Mr Richardson said his Tesla was an impressive piece of technology and something he was passionate about, having worked more than 12 years as an engineer.
He said while the Prado was ideal for towing and getting down to Brisbane, Mr Richardson said the technology of Tesla and electric vehicles that’s being developed is exciting.
Unlike many in his party who have a ute or 4WD, Mr Richardson said his car is one of the “most innovative out there” and hopes to see more cars like it driving around Townsville and the country.
“I want to see more innovation in Australia,” he said.
“This is one of the most innovative cars out there in terms of how it’s been designed, how it’s been built.”
Mr Richardson said he would love to see technology like electric cars being made and produced in Australia.
“What we don’t have up here is we don’t have a high-speed charging network, which is one thing I’ve noticed,” he said.
“I don’t think the government should necessarily be developing that, but they should be encouraging other companies to do that.”
“Some of the best charging networks are the Tesla charging network and one of the best ones we’ve got down here is Bowen, but that’s as far as it goes North.
Saying the Tesla is a low maintenance car with great range, Mr Richardson said it costs about 10 dollars to ‘fill up’ your car to get about five to six hundred kilometres of range.
Adam Baillie – VW Amarok
In his role as an electrician, LNP candidate Adam Baillie is used to having the right tools for the job.
Working for the past 10 years in Townsville as part of a family electrical business, when he chose to put his name forward as a candidate in the upcoming election, Mr Baillie converted his work ute into an election campaign ute.
“When I entered politics the natural progression was that I wasn’t going to cart those tools and cables around with me anymore, but needed to cart around corflutes. I’ve backed the ute with campaigning tools now,” he said.
Mr Baillie said his previous role and interactions with customers was what inspired him to get into politics.
“Working as an electrician, you are going to people and they have a problem, that’s why you are there,” he said.
“One of the big influencing factors was when I would be at people’s houses or homes working they would open up to me about other things that are happening in their lives.”
“They would often say something needs to be done about this, someone needs to do something. I’ve fixed things my whole life.”
Studying mechanical engineering after school and then working in corporate roles for ten years, Mr Baillie went into an electrical contracting business with his father, where he undertook a mature-aged apprenticeship.
“I’m not afraid to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty and get stuck into it,” he said.
Les Walker – 2003 Nissan Navara
Having previously worked at Townsville City Council as a councillor and Deputy Mayor before being elected in state parliament in 2020, Labor member for Mundingburra Les Walker stands by his faithful ute which has travelled “many kilometres over the years.”
“It’s seen five campaigns for local government and state and it’s been very loyal, very trustworthy,” he said.
“I got it in 2008 as a second-hand vehicle. In 2012 when I had the election and I won council again, it became my work vehicle for a while.”
Saying it also came in handy for camping, fishing and doing the groceries, Mr Walker said the ute was a multipurpose vehicle that was helpful during the 2019 floods.
“I had a couple of dual cab utes on the roads helping other people during the floods. It came in very handy,” he said.
With 280,000 kilometres on the dash, Mr Walker said the car still had life in it and the older model had no eclectic windows or on-board computer.
“It’s a basic diesel engine, there’s no reliability on a computer,” he said.
“It’s a bit like an old Holden or an old Ford. This can keep going forever.”
He said the eye-catching recognisable vehicle had become a great advertising device over the years.
“I get a lot of toots, people saying ‘hey Les’, people see you out and about and they know that you are there and that you are approachable,” he said.
Nick Dametto – Blue VW beach buggy
A self-confessed motor head, Hinchinbrook MP and deputy leader of the KAP Nick Dametto has a unique vehicle in his arsenal of campaign vehicles.
A lover of cars, motorbikes, boats and more, Mr Dametto has been a passionate advocate and attendee of motor events and recently announced a commitment by his party for the DriveIT NQ motorsport facility at Calcium.
Along with his branded ute, Mr Dametto has a bright-blue buggy he said he brings out twice a month on his campaign.
Mr Dametto said it’s been a great car to be doing his campaigning in, with the car featured in many videos and seen driving along the Northern beaches of Townsville.
“It kind of embodies the KAP’s whole way of thinking, which is North Queensland, fun and freedom,” he said.
“There’s probably not much more freedom you can have than driving around in a beach buggy with the roof off.”
The vehicle, which once belonged to Mr Dametto’s godfather, has been restored after two years of work.
“It used to be my godfathers, when he and my father were running around growing up together,” he said.
After purchasing the vehicle Mr Dametto went back to his roots as a fitter and picked up materials “by the kilo” to rebuild the buggy.
“There’s nothing like building something yourself, I am a fitter by trade so it’s good to get back to your roots every now and then and do a bit of mechanical work in the garage,” he said.
Aaron Harper – 2015 FG-X Ford Falcon
A lover of cars his whole life, member for Thuringowa Aaron Harper said he has always loved Fords and said his Falcon was “the car of the people”.
Member for Thuringowa since 2015, Mr Harper said living in Kelso and cruising around, he receives a lot of thumbs-ups from fellow car lovers.
“People see me cruising up and down and I’ve been to a lot of places in this car over the years,” he said.
“I am a bit of a car enthusiast, it’s in the blood. I love motorsport, being a Ford man, but I had a Holden phase too. I went through a VK Commodore and then I had a VN Commodore as well, a V6’s.”
Following motorsport in his early days, Mr Harper said he always used to drag race at the old drag way.
“I started out with a little Ford Escort as my car, a Ford Escort Panel Van, then I had a XC302 V8 and that was a 70s car,” he said.
“After that I had an XD ex-highway police pursuit car. I’ve always loved Ford. I used to follow Dick Johnson around Bathurst with his green machine and his blue falcon.”
Mr Harper said his Ford Falcon was a piece of Australian history.
“FG-X 2015 is the last Falcon made in Australia,” he said.
“They stopped making the Falcons in 2015, so this is the last model. It’s a 179kw turbo 4 cylinder Falcon, which people will find strange because historically there were either a V8 or a 6 cylinder Barra engine”
Michael Pugh – Toyota HiLux
The KAP candidate for Mundingburra, Michael Pugh’s car is hard to miss at the pre-poll voting booth at PCYC Aitkenvale.
Parked outside of the exclusion zone, the ute is parked on the street adorned with signs promoting the party’s policy of Castle Law.
“Given the support we’ve got behind our Castle Law and relocation sentencing, I feel like it’s appropriate that I have Castle Law plastered all over the car and push that message to voters,” he said.
His HiLux, which he also takes hunting, fishing and shooting and also on trips as part of his Townsville Hike and Explore Group, catches the attention of the public with Mr Pugh saying many people have stopped him to ask questions.
“This car has been my identifying marker,” he said.
“People have been stopping at the lights and having a chat. It’s that bit of extra identity past what you see with the corflutes and on Facebook.”
“I was pulled over at Stocklands and a guy came running over and said ‘are you related to the Pughs from Charters Towers?’ so it has been a really good tool.
Mr Pugh said the branded ute comes in handy for towing billboards and installing corflutes.
“I don’t wear the Akubras like Robbie and Bob so this identifies me as being part of the KAP,” he said.
Scott Stewart – 2019 Toyota LandCruiser
Member for Townsville Scott Stewart is a lifelong fan of Toyotas and 4WDs.
Holding his role since 2015, Mr Stewart said he loves to get out and tour off-road, with his role as Minister for Resources and Critical Minerals allowing him to travel many dirt roads to mine sites and rural communities.
“This is a very handy car,” he said.
“This year I’ve been out to a number of places around Murrumba and Mount Isa,” he said.
Mr Stewart said the car, which he purchased in the last 12 to 18 months had features including a UHF radio, side shades and sliding drawers.
“I like getting out and seeing what we have in this part of the state,” he said.
“I’ve been out to the Simpson Desert, Birdsville, Uluru. I’ve been up to Cape York, I’ve been out to Lawn Hill.”
“I use it everywhere.”
It comes after, Mr Stewart made headlines earlier this year when thieves stole his Hyundai Santa Fe during a home break-in on February 4
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