Federal poll on the Glitter Strip: the booth fight before dawn as party faithful get best spots
Liberals on the Gold Coast are celebrating retaining all four of their Gold Coast seats tonight, including a stunning result in the marginal seat of Forde.
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RETURNED LNP MP Bert van Manen was swamped by overjoyed supporters as he celebrated a stunning victory.
The incumbent Forde MP appears to have retained his seat on an increased majority against Labor challenger Des Hardman.
Hugs aplenty, drinks and cheers flowed at the Riverlakes Tavern and Golf Club in Cornubia where the party was expected to continue well into the evening.
An overjoyed Mr van Manen took a group shot with staff to cheers of “Labor sucks”.
The MP told the Bulletin he was surprised and humbled by the size of the swing in his favour.
“It is a very surprising result but I am honoured that the electorate of Forde has seen fit to elect me to serve in what I expect will be the next Morrison federal government,” he said.
“I think what we have seen is the silent majority stand up and be counted.”
Mr van Manen said he was yet to hear from Labor candidate Des Hardman, who has not yet conceded.
The LNP also comfortably retained its three other Gold Coast seats with huge margins.
Angie Bell, who was pre-selected after long-serving MP Steve Ciobo retired in Moncrieff, is the Coast’s newest MP.
An underdog in the preselection battle, Ms Bell emerged with a first preference vote of 50.3%.
“Thank you so much for being here tonight, it is not about me, it’s about bringing Moncrieff home – with a wider margin and more votes for the LNP,” Ms Bell told jubilant supporters at the Broadbeach Bowls Club.
“I am in the Liberal National Party because I believe in reward for effort.
“I believe if you work hard you should be able to keep the fruits of your labour, and you should be able to reinvest the fruits of your labour into your family and into your community.”
In McPherson in the city’s south, sitting MP Karen Andrews had 61 per cent of the vote, down by about 0.4 per cent.
In Fadden in the city’s north, sitting MP Stuart Robert – again on a two-party preferred vote – had 63 per cent of the vote, up 2.4 per cent.
But the big result was in Forde. Labor will hope for some votes from pre-poll and postal but although refusing to publicly concede defeat, party insiders admitted it would be very difficult for Mr Hardman to pull back enough votes from Mr van Manen.
Spirits were subdued at the Beenleigh Bowls Club, where Mr Hardman and around 100 supporters had gathered to watch the results.
Among them was Labor Senator Murray Watt, who said there would be “hard questions asked” about the party’s disappointing performance.
“Obviously we have to wait and see the pre-poll figures in Forde but it is looking difficult for Labor,” he said.
“That is disappointing because I know how hard Des and his whole campaign team have worked for well over a year.
“It does seem the LNP has got a big swing across the southeast.
“There are going to be some hard questions asked.”
In northern NSW, incumbent Richmond MP Justine Elliot was on track to retain her seat, with a lift in her primary vote and two-party-preferred vote.
Mrs Elliot narrowly trailed Nationals candidate Matthew Fraser on primary vote, but the preference votes from Greens candidate Michael Lyon were all but certain to give the seat to the Labor MP.
Ms Elliot said the initial results were “very promising” but her team were not making any assumptions about the end result.
EARLIER
8.40PM:
Moncrieff LNP Star Angie Bell is keeping her cool despite rocketing ahead in the count.
Ms Bell, lovingly called “the only blue bell” by her volunteers has won 48.5% of the first preference vote with 39.5% of the vote counted as of 8:15 pm.
Her closest competitor Tracey Bell for the ALP has 23.1%.
“It’s going very very well really,” Angie Bell said looking at the running national count.
“I am especially pleased for Michelle Landry, she is an excellent local member.”
Ms Bell has become close with the Capricornia MP during their time at the the LNP Women.
Ms Bell said it was “very sad” when asked to share her thoughts on the Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott loss in the Blue ribbon seat of Warringah.
A young LNP member who was bolstered by the early count for a number of Queensland seats said he believed the election will be a new beginning for the party.
“The party is starting to heal itself again,” the young man who chose not to be named said.
“There are far more moderates coming on board and a lot of the stirrers are out, recent populism was just a phase, we are over that disease.”
8.30PM:
A JUBILANT Stuart Robert has declared the LNP’s strong showing in Queensland to be part of “one of the greatest political comebacks of all time”.
The Assistant Treasurer has declared victory and celebrated with around 100 supporters but warned the result of today’s election will not likely be known tonight.
The Fadden MP used his speech to slam Gold Coast-based Labor Senator Murray Watt and celebrated the unexpectedly strong showing by the government, which has defied polls.
“Bill Shorten went into this fight thinking he was going to do a victory lap and then he hit the first week,” he said.
“We are seeing incredible swings which are extraordinary.
“We have seen a swing in Forde which is just amazing.
“We are not going to see an end to this tonight.”
Mr Robert, a close friend and ally of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, said he expected it would take days for the full result to be known.
8.05PM:
THE LNP performance at a halfway count for some Gold Coast seats is much better than expected.
Several LNP heavyweights late today on the Glitter Strip were not going to attend parties, such was the glum feeling about the party’s chances.
Just after 8pm, as more consistent trends emerge in the vote count, they are cracking open a beer but not quite yet the champagne.
In Fadden, Stuart Robert’s vote has increased by 4.8 per cent, on the count on a two-party preferred basis.
Similarly, McPherson for Karen Andrews is only down by just over 1 per cent. New candidate Angie Bell in Moncrieff is looking at a decreased margin of only 0.42 per cent.
The big shock is in the marginal northern Gold Coast seat of Forde.
Again on a two-party preferred basis, the vote for Labor’s Des Hardman is down by more than 8 per cent.
The reason for that is One Nation, which did not contest the 2016 poll, has 11.47 per cent of the vote.
But only just more than half of the booths have been counted, and some are not the larger ones which may favour Labor.
LNP MP Bert van Manen, in the fight for his political life, is in the stronger position. His margin was only 0.6 per cent.
An LNP source told the Bulletin: “Bert is up three per cent at the moment. Des is down by eight per cent. Bert is absolutely smashing it. Forde is looking exceptional for us.”
8.00PM:
Big cheers have run out at the Fadden election party as early counting showed Peter Dutton and Forde MP Bert van Manen were on track to retain their seats.
Both seats had been seen as highly marginal but as of 8pm both appear on track to retain them.
As of 7.42pm Mr Van Manen has seen a 6.39 per cent swing towards him.
The seat, which has previously been predicted to be tight, has seen the incumbent face off against Labor’s Des Hardman.
On a primary vote, Mr Hardman has seen a swing against him of more than 8 per cent so far.
7.50PM:
The vote for The Greens is holding up in strong conservative seats on the Glitter Strip.
While One Nation is the star performer after early counting and Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party performing poorly, the Greens have remained solid.
In Moncrieff at 7.30pm with 14 of the 41 booths counted, the Greens have more than 10 per cent of the vote.
In McPherson on the Coast’s southern end, the Green vote is 13.35 per cent, up by 1.32 per cent.
The Green vote in Fadden in the north is tracking at 10.17 per cent, up 1.65 per cent on the 2016 count.
7.45PM:
A SMALL but dedicated group of Liberal Party supporters are celebrating with incumbent Fadden MP Stuart Robert.
Around 50 people are watching the election results, which are too close to call nationally.
Mr Robert on early counting is performing strongly on a two-party prefered basis where he is currently projected to secure 70 per cent of the vote.
On a primary vote, with less than 5 per cent counted, he has seen a 2.37 per cent swing away from him, though Liberal strategists believe this will disappear as counting continues.
Liberal strategists at the event are stunned by the size of the swing against former prime minister Tony Abbott in his seat of Warringah in Sydney.
Mr Robert had been a long-time friend of Mr Abbott, but voted against him in the 2015 leadership spill which ended his time in the nation’s top job.
7.40PM:
Incumbent MP Justine Elliot looks likely to retain the northern NSW seat of Richmond.
Ms Elliot is behind Nationals candidate Matthew Fraser on first preferences, but Greens candidate Michael Lyon has gained a solid chunk of the vote which is expected to flow towards Mrs Elliot.
In early counting Elliot had a primary vote of almost 31% against 32.2% for Fraser, with Lyon on 25%.
7.15PM:
SOME of the Gold Coast’s safe LNP seats are facing some wild early swings as counting starts in the Federal poll.
The only consistent theme from early trends is the solid performance of One Nation.
Pauline Hanson’s party after counting in six booths in Moncrieff has 7.4 per cent of the vote. In Fadden, in the city’s north, the vote is as high as 9 per cent.
Moncrieff LNP candidate Angie Bell, who was preselected after long serving sitting MP Steve Ciobo retired, faces an early swing of less than 10 per cent.
But her Labor opponent Tracey Bell has also had a swing of just less than two per cent.
7.05PM:
ONE Nation is polling better than expected in the marginal northern Gold Coast seat of Forde, which will be a cliffhanger.
An exclusive poll for the Bulletin earlier this week had Pauline Hanson’s party tracking at 7 per cent in Forde.
After the first results from the count just before 7pm – three booths were posted – One Nation had more than 10 per cent of the vote.
Earlier polling this week had Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party at 4 per cent. On the booth count, UAP had secured less than three per cent of the vote.
Sitting LNP MP Bert van Manen has more than 44 per cent of the vote and Labor’s Des Hardman has 28.45 per cent.
Labor will get Greens preferences and the party was polling at 3 per cent, down 1 per cent on what was expected.
7.00PM:
SENATE independent hopeful and long time child safety advocate Hetty Johnston said she is recovering from a long day on the hustings with her volunteer team.
Reflecting on the day the founder of Bravehearts said it was difficult for independents to get air and fight against the major party machines.
“We won’t be getting together tonight, we will be waiting to hear about a result in a few weeks and then regroup,” Ms Johnston said.
“I just hope for the children’s sake the campaign has been successful, it has been hard for us.
“We had a lot of volunteers across the state but not enough for each of the booths.
“I really hope we got people thinking about the protection of children.”
Ms Johnston said the Senate voting process was difficult for smaller groups and independents to promote.
“It is a tough process, first we need to let people know we are running and then show them how to vote for us,” she said.
The regular advocate said she hasn’t ruled out the possibility of forming or joining a party in the future, depending on her success in today’s election.
“I probably will consider things in the future, there have already been some approaches and a lot of people on both the left and the right side are looking for something sensible in the centre.”
After spending most of the day in Logan working at the polling booths or a little further south at Coomera, Ms Johnston said she would watch the vote count tonight after a “nice hot shower and a big glass of wine.”
“I just want to say thanks for a great big day to all the people and volunteers who slogged it out for ten house in the sun and the rain to make sure every child is safe. They didn’t do it for themselves they did it for the children which was a very unselfish thing to do.”
6.30PM:
FORDE LNP MP Bert van Manen says a result in his marginal seat in the north of the Gold Coast will not be known tonight.
Approached by the Bulletin as he left the electorate’s biggest booth at Upper Coomera State College, Mr van Manen admitted a result might take some time.
“I think we might in for a few days of counting,” he said.
Mr van Manen has a margin of only 0.6 per cent but today faced a tough fight with Labor supporters matching his numbers on the booths.
“It’s been a busy day. The response has been positive. You also get a variety of responses so you never take anything for granted until the votes are counted,” he said.
“My message has been we have a positive story to tell and a positive agenda going forward. “As opposed to what those opposite are offering, which are more and higher taxes and a sledgehammer to the economy.”
4.10PM:
LNP candidate for Moncrieff Angie Bell has made a shock admission just hours before polling closes.
She opts for barbecue over the traditional tomato sauce when indulging in a democracy sausage on Election Day.
“I’m a barbecue sauce girl – I admit it,” the upbeat candidate told the Bulletin this afternoon.
Despite her 5.30am start and weeks on the campaign trail the favourite to win was full of energy, bolstered by local LNP supporters.
Ms Bell said she has been treated to warm welcomes at booths this morning.
“It’s been really humbling to see the strong turn-out from the team and volunteers,” she said.
“I am lucky enough to have friends and family out there as well, we have a 400-strong team of people on the ground so it is a boost.”
During the interview Ms Bell was stopped regularly by voters patting her on the shoulder as they left.
“What we have been hearing on the ground is a lot of people worry about Shorten and Labor and the retiree tax, and the winding back of tax cuts that have already been delivered,” she said.
Ms Bell said that should she win she would grant herself just a little down time tomorrow afternoon with her family.
“It would be good to get a few hours with them so we can remember what each other looks like,” she joked.
“Then straight to work, should I be elected.”
4.00PM:
FEDERAL Richmond MP Justine Elliot says voters are “sick” of the coalition Government “focusing on themselves” as she urged residents to make their vote count.
Pre-polling and the bookies have tipped a Shorten Labor Government to come out on top once voting for the 2019 Federal election comes to a close at 6pm tonight.
Mrs Elliot cast her vote at Centaur Primary School in Banora Point this morning where she said people were growing discontent with the existing government.
“It seems people are seeing the cuts and chaos of the current Government and want a fair go for the region, they’ve seen the disunity of One Nation, Clive Palmer and the Liberals and Nationals,” she said.
“They want to see change.”
Mrs Elliot, who has held the seat of Richmond since 2004, said this particular campaign showed there was “a clear choice for voters”.
“Voters are sick of the current government focusing on themselves, they’re not focused on everyday people and they’re sick of that,” she said.
“We want a fair go for the region, we will take action on climate change, schools and hospitals, we’ll protect penalty rates and deliver a strong economy.”
Mrs Elliot thanked her hard working volunteers for the hours they’ve put in “trying to get our country back on track”.
“Thank you to all those hard working people, I thank them for their strong Labor values,” she said.
3.40PM:
A touch of nostalgia has hit voters in Ashmore this afternoon, with many reminiscing about the late Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke.
“If his passing wasn’t a political statement from heaven I don’t know what is,” Labor voter Brenda told the Bulletin.
“My mother voted Labor, I vote Labor and my daughter notes Labor - they look after people like us.”
Ezzard, an Ashmore retiree, said he was also thinking of Bob Hawke while casting his vote.
“I think Labor will win and get government, we need them back,” he said.
“It is people like Bob Hawke that have made Australia what it is.”
LNP volunteer Matt Taylor was just as confident in his side of politics, and had made some special treats to keep his energy up through out the day.
The seasoned campaigner, who has worked in more than a dozen elections, had whipped up some Angie Bell cookies for the occasion.
“A few snacks and coffees keeps the energy up,” Mr Taylor told the Bulletin.
“It’s been very positive on the ground here today, a lot of Angie supporters.”
Many other late-comers however were less than enthusiastic about having to make the journey from home to the polls on their Saturday.
“Unless you’re selling golf clubs I’m not interested,” one man was overheard saying on his way into Ashmore State School.
A mother of three who was struggling to manage her gaggle in and out of the car to vote asked pollsters why they were unable to vote at home.
“We have Uber, we all sorts of technology but we can’t seem to work out how to votedigitally,” she said while pushing past the political gauntlet.
3.10PM
The northern NSW seat of Richmond, which covers Tweed Heads and the nother Rivers has recorded one of the highest pre-poll turnouts across the country.
Data released by the Australian Electoral Commission show more than 4 million people voted before polling day.
In Richmond, 50,015 people, or 41.8 per cent of have already voted in the seat, which has been held by Labor’s Justine Elliot since 2004.
2.15PM
UNITED Australia party booth workers have confirmed to the Bulletin that they are being paid to distribute how to vote cards.
In what is traditionally a volunteer duty, workers donned in Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party yellow have set up across they Gold Coast to hand out brochures.
One worker told the Bulletin they are collecting $28 an hour for their assistance on Election Day.
“I heard about it online, and it is a good casual job - I’d do it again,” one of the UAP workers told the Bulletin.
“People don’t tell you if they are voting your way, but they are very upfront when they aren’t,” the 25-year-old said.
“I didn’t vote for him,” another told the Bulletin.
It is understood a major employment agency assisted in the hiring of the casual booth workers.
1.50PM:
NATIONALS candidate Matthew Fraser says he will fight until polling booths close at 6pm tonight in his bid to win the northern NSW seat of Richmond.
Labor MP Justine Elliot is the favourite to retain the seat she has held since 2004 but has never won the popular vote, with Greens preferences helping her get over the line.
This election, she faces strong opposition from Mr Fraser and Greens candidate Michael Lyon.
Mr Fraser, who was in Ballina this morning before he travelled to Bangalow, said there was a “mood” in the community to get rid of Mrs Elliot who “has been warming the seat for 17 years now”.
“Everyone is petrified about Labor coming in, certainly Bill Shorten at that with their high taxing agenda, their proposed death tax and the big raid on their superannuation and the retiree tax,” he said.
“I’ve had more people than ever before say they’ve always voted for Labor but they’re not going to take it anymore.”
Mr Fraser, who is now running as a candidate in Richmond for the third time, said he would keep fighting until 6pm tonight and had received “overwhelming” support.
“Let’s pray that Bill Shorten does not enter The Lodge because if he does, it will literally be the case where seniors will have to line up Monday and get pensions because they’re ripping away so much money from independent retirees, it’s an absolute disgrace,” he said.
Mr Fraser thanked his volunteers for the mammoth effort they had put in during his campaign.
“I just want to say a big thank you to all of the volunteers who have put so much time, energy and effort into the last three weeks of pre-polling and the tremendous effort they’re putting in today,” he said.
1.40PM:
WHERE is One Nation? Are Pauline Hanson’s biggest supporters averse to sand between their toes?
Looking at the state of play at Gold Coast polling booths in the federal poll, One Nation has been by far the poorest performer.
An LNP campaigner around all the booths in the central Gold Coast only spotted a handful of One Nation booth workers at Nerang and Highland Park.
“They were handing out for the Senate. They didn’t have that many people on the ground during the State poll either. They had someone at Robina for the pre-poll,” the campaigner said.
The Greens and Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party have managed to have one or two workers at every booth.
Labor has matched the LNP in the marginal seat of Forde where up to six volunteers are working at each booth. Their campaign has been slimmer, the closer it gets to the beach.
The Greens in Forde – where tensions have been rising at the Upper Coomera State College booth in Reserve Road – have been keeping it cool.
Upper Coomera mother Lissy Gauranich, who was holding her four-month-old son Joey in between handing out how-to-vote cards for the Greens, laughed off some of the comments directed her way.
“The feedback has been positive. We’re trying to send a positive message,” she said.
“It’s just silly (some of the remarks). They’re saying the Greens for salads and not the Senate. Well probably a lot of Green voters eat salads anyway.”
Labor candidate Des Hardman was obviously buoyed by the number of his volunteers when he visited the electorate’s biggest polling booth.
“It’s been great. There is a sense they’re for a change,” he said.
1.30PM:
ONE of the busiest booths in the Gold Coast’s north has been inundated by voters in the middle of the day.
Labrador State School had a line out the door just before 1pm.
The LNP had a strong presence, with incumbent Fadden MP Stuart Robert on the hustings with his 13-year-old son alongside Bonney MP Sam O’Connor.
Mr Robert said he had received strong support from local voters.
Across booths in the city’s central and northern regions there’s been a smaller than expected presence from minor parties including Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.
But doing a roaring trade has been the sausage stalls, which have been reporting strong patronage throughout the day.
1PM: Old stereotypes have stuck fast on the Labor campaign in Moncrieff.
A number of voters told the Bulletin they were voting for the Liberals in order to avoid the “death tax” - a claim which has dogged the ALP for the whole campaign.
“Anything but the death tax, I put everyone above them (Labor),” a personal trainer in his 20s said.
The young man said he was concerned about his parents’ possessions when they passed.
“We can’t afford it,” he said.
The suggestion of a secret inheritance tax has been ruled out publicly by the Labor Party a number of times.
Another young cabinet maker who was voting with his mother told the Bulletin he believed he would “get richer” under the LNP.
“When the LNP is in I make money because I get work, when it’s Labor I lose it.”
His mother, aged in her forties, said she voted for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation because of how Pauline aligned with the LNP.
“Having them both in would be good.”
Trinity Lutheran College, home to one of the busiest booths, has credited the 1.5 hour wait to vote on their ‘democracy brownies’.
“We have sausages but it is the brownies that are the favourites, and then the toffees,” Year 11 Trinity Lutheran College student Chloe Flack said.
She and her schoolmates have raised more than $1000 thus far, feeding the massive lines outside the college polling place.
According to workers the line ran out the school gates and onto the road earlier this morning.
“We are selling baked goods and succulents too,” Ms Flack said.
The team hopes to raise more than $2000 by the end of the day for their upcoming formal.
Voters who rushed to the polls at Trinity Lutheran College were caught flat-out thanks to an awkward entrance.
A pesky ridge entering the school needed a quick fix after claiming a handful of eager voters who had tripped up heading into the centre.
Booth workers soon covered the ridge with mats and signs after it claimed what is believed to be its fourth victim just after lunch.
12PM:
A fierce political battle is being fought in the north of the Gold Coast for the marginal seat of Forde.
The mood on the larger polling booths around Coomera is a step above in intensity above the voting venues closer to the tourist strip.
LNP heavyweights like Burleigh MP Michael Hart, councillors Cameron Caldwell, Donna Gates and Hermann Vorster have been at the biggest booth at the Upper Coomera State College in Reserve Road.
Young LNP members handing out at the front of the booth are targeting Labor leader Bill Shorten.
“Stop Bill Shorten, he’s dangerous. He will wreck the economy,” a teenage booth worker has told voters.
Another slightly older booth worker is telling voters: “Save the economy. Stop the economy. Vote for Bert.”
Many voters are rushing through, clearly not wanting to be bombarded with political messaging.
The LNP’s Bert van Manen on a margin of just 0.6 per cent is facing the fight of his political life as Labor’s Des Hardman, a senior radiographer from the Logan Hospital, assembles a campaign team of similar size to the conservatives.
Apart from Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party and the Greens, the other key players on the booths have been members of the ACTU’s Change the Rule who have Mr Hardman number one on their ticket.
Mr Hart who had been campaigning earlier in the Coast’s most southern electorate of McPherson admitted tensions were higher in Forde.
“McPherson is a lot friendly than here. We don’t have any union activity in our patch,” he said.
“It’s a bit more fiery here. This seat is in play. Bert has been doing a fantastic job. I’m confident he will win. He has a lot of supporters.”
11.30AM:
One polling booth which is as busy as ever is Ashmore State School in
the seat of Moncrieff.
Hundreds of people are lined up at the Currumburra Road campus where
you can expect to line up for at least 45 minutes according to the
school P & C.
The ‘democracy sausage’ stall is doing a roaring trade.
It’s understood Trinity Lutheran College boasts an even bigger line.
11AM:
Polling booths in the Gold Coast’s southern suburbs are the quietest they have ever been on Election Day mornings, according to experienced political operatives.
The impact of a growing number of pre-polling voters has been revealed, with line ups virtually non-existent.
At Palm Beach-Currumbin High School there was a large crowd but few were there to vote - instead they were attracted to the weekly farmer’s markets held next to the polling booth.
Incumbent McPherson MP Karen Andrews visited the Currumbin State School booth just after 10am and said she had noticed a downturn in the number of people voting on Election Day.
“I have already been at a number of booths, starting at Tugun, Coolangatta and now here at Currumbin. It will be a busy day for me to get around the booths,” she told the Bulletin.
“It has been consistent but (the line up at booths) it certainly is not as busy as it has been in recent years.
“We know there has been a significant pre-poll vote and that has had an impact on the turn out at the booths.”
10AM:
Labor Forde candidate Des Hardman knows he is assured of one vote today.
“My son Julian has turned 18,” Mr Hardman said, as he headed off first to a Shailer Park polling booth north of Gold Coast so they both could vote.
Asked who Julian would vote for, Mr Hardman laughed before replying: “We’ve discussed his values and how he needs to make decisions around policies.”
Labor in the marginal seat north of the Coast got off to quick start with booth workers late on Friday afternoon setting up.
“The team started off yesterday in the afternoon. They got going around 1pm,” Mr Hardman said.
Exclusive polling for the Bulletin shows the senior radiographer from the Logan Hospital and sitting LNP MP Bert van Manen are equal on 50 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis.
Mr van Manen has a margin of only 0.6 per cent in the seat which takes in Coomera north of the river to Beenleigh and Logan.
Mr Hardman at pre-polling and doorknocking has advised voters that if they want to change the government vote one for Labor rather than lodge a protest vote with the minor parties.
Gold Coast-based Senator Murray Watt believes after doorknocking that a large number of Gold Coast voters remain undecided about who to vote for.
“I’d be asking people who are still undecided – a vote in Forde, you have the opportunity to change the government,” Senator Watt said.
“If people who still undecided, and you want to see that change, I’d ask them to vote for Labor. If you vote for One Nation or UAP, you will get a LNP Government.
“If you want to stop the cuts and chaos, we’re asking you to vote for Labor.”
8.30AM:
Massive crowds are building at the major polling booths on the Gold Coast as voting began at 8am.
At Pacific Pines on the Coast’s northern end, the line-up was more than 100 deep.
The queue stretched from the polling booth inside the hall to outside the school gate at the high school.
Australian Electoral Commission staff were giving priority to workers, asking them to come forward and vote first. Quick access was also given to the disabled.
Otherwise it was a minimum 20 minute wait to vote.
Many voters were not taking how-to-vote cards suggesting they had made up their minds.
7AM:
THE federal poll began in the dark on the Glitter Strip this morning.
LNP party faithful on the Gold Coast today began assembling blue covered tarps outside polling booths as early as 4am.
Their target was Labor leader Bill Shorten. Some posters had the headline “This is the Bill we cannot afford”.
But Labor has fired back. Their placards feature the most recent LNP Prime Ministers with the headlines “Stop the Cuts” and “End the Chaos”.
Depending on the location, either Labor had dressed up the booths first overnight or the LNP.
Leading LNP campaigner, Mudgeeraba MP and frontbencher Ros Bates, told the Bulletin: “The booth captains started at 4am at some booths. All our booths were set up by 6am.
“We’re used to it. We’ve set up in the dark before. The mood is stop Shorten.”
The LNP on the tourist strip are buoyed by response of last minute voters at pre-polling yesterday.
“I think the pre-poll has been massive. We are seeing likely up to 40 per cent of the vote. People are voting early,” Ms Bates said.
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“Certainly the feeling in the last few days has been to stop Labor. People have been taking one in 20 of the Labor how-to-vote cards handed out in Moncrieff and McPherson.”
Ms Bates has been working with Moncrieff candidate Angie Bell who has replaced retiring MP Steven Ciobo.
Ms Bell is planning to start her polling day campaign at a Highland Park booth before visiting eight other key polling centres in her electorate throughout the day.
Voting starts at 8am and concludes at 6pm with voters encouraged to have lodged their vote before the late afternoon rush.
Ms Bell in Moncrieff, Stuart Robert in Fadden and Karen Andrews in the south at McPherson are all in safe conservative seats and expected to win.
But the real contest is in the northern coast seat of Forde where the LNP’s Bert van Manen on a margin of only 0.6 per cent faces the fight of his political life against Labor’s Des Hardman.
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