Townsville ‘crucial’ to outcome of Federal Election as campaign in tight seat kicks off

The battle for Australia’s tightest political seat has begun, with jobs for Townsville topping the agenda across party lines

THE battle for Australia’s tightest political seat has begun, with jobs for Townsville topping the agenda across party lines.

There are four confirmed candidates for Herbert so far, LNP’s Phil Thompson, Labor’s Cathy O’Toole, Nanette Radeck from Katter’s Australian Party and The Green’s Sam Blackadder.

A spokesman for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation said a candidate would be announced closer to the ballot draw and Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party is set to reveal their pick on Saturday.

Candidates were out on Thursday to spruik their credentials and lay out priorities, with voters set to head to the polls on May 18.

Flanked by Minister for Northern Australia Matt Canavan, Mr Thompson on Thursday pitched himself as a “fighter”.

“I fought in Afghanistan, in a war, I have continued to fight for veterans’ needs and issues and I fought for people that didn’t have a voice,” he said.

“I’m someone that’s here, I’m staying and I’m here to fight for our region.”

Incumbent MP Cathy O’Toole, supported by Shadow Minister Linda Burney, said she was ready for a “tight battle” in Herbert.

“This community means the world to me, and my job is to represent them in the best possible way that I can,” she said.

“The number one issue in our community is jobs, people want a job and they have a right to a job.”

James Cook University senior politics lecturer Maxine Newlands said it was unsurprising the major party candidates had framed themselves as dedicated locals considering the backlash that hit former Herbert MP Ewen Jones at the last election for spending too much time in Canberra.

Dr Newlands said minor parties like Katter’s Australian Party had been using this tactic for years.

“If both [major parties] are going on a local focus, the point of difference might come from the minor parties,” she said.

“People thinking, what else is on offer?”

KAP’s Nanette Radeck positioned herself as an alternative to the big party politics filled with infighting.

“How can you run a country if you’ve got such stark disunity?” she said.

“Politicians are being labelled more and more dishonest … I think it needs to be far more transparent, and I’d like to be part of that change in culture of the political arena.”

JCU PhD student and director of Voter Choice Raphaella Crosby said Herbert has become a “traumatised electorate” after the flood catastrophe.

She said as a consequence small, easy to understand issues would be the ones to cut through.

“People are not dealing very well and they don’t have the energy to wrap their heads around complex ideas,” Ms Crosby said.

Mr Canavan said Townsville voters would be “crucial” in deciding the overall result of the nation’s parliament.

Originally published as Townsville ‘crucial’ to outcome of Federal Election as campaign in tight seat kicks off