Queensland Election 2020: Gold Coast MP after days of waiting on the count told to put the champagne on ice
Burleigh MP Michael Hart has sent a message to supporters, warning them not to believe certain reports about the ongoing count in the closely-contested seat.
Gold Coast
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BURLEIGH LNP MP Michael Hart has told his supporters to ignore “fake news” and reassured them about his confidence of retaining his Gold Coast seat.
In a Facebook post, Mr Hart wrote: “At present I am comfortably ahead on primary votes and far enough ahead on the indicative two-party preferred count to be confident I will be re-elected. I can’t say much more than that.
“Ignore other reports, at this stage I have not claimed the seat, the Labor candidate hasn’t conceded and the ECQ (Electoral Commission of Queensland) won’t declare the seat until at least Wednesday — anything else you read hear or read is fake news.”
Several supporters on his Facebook page have advised Mr Hart to “put the champagne on ice”.
On the primary count, Mr Hart has 39.58 per cent of the vote, which compares to his Labor rival Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew on 36.17 per cent.
Rachel Mebberson from the Greens had polled 9.19 per cent and Georgie Batty from One Nation secured 7.15 per cent of the primary vote.
Labor scrutineers believe Mr Hart will benefit from One Nation preferences and are not confident about the expected flow to the ALP from the Green vote.
On the indicative two-party preferred count, undertaken before preferences were counted, Mr Hart has 51 per cent of the vote.
Currumbin LNP MP Laura Gerber is also waiting on Wednesday’s count of preferences which will determine the outcome in her seat.
Ms Gerber has not posted on Facebook or made any media comment since election day on October 31.
The battle is much tighter than at Burleigh due to Labor likely to benefit from preferences from the Greens along with independent candidate Dr Richard Stuckey, the husband of Jann Stuckey, the former long serving MP for Currumbin.
Less than 100 votes is separating the two major parties, according to an indicative two-party preferred count.
Ms Gerber’s office understands she’s winning by 351 votes.
The latest unofficial preference count had Ms Gerber on 50.2 per cent and Ms Campradt on 49.8 per cent. Ms Gerber won the by-election in March but is facing a swing against her of 3.3 per cent.
In Coomera, LNP MP Michael Crandon is back working in the electorate and on radio talking up the need for “the fast tracking of delivery of the infrastructure we need for the northern Gold Coast”.
LNP MP Mark Boothman in Theodore, who was caught in the huge hail storm on election day, despite looking at a tough contest in early counting won his seat and has now returned to checking in on businesses damaged by the wet weather.
EARLIER: LABOR ONLY TRAILING BY A FEW HUNDRED VOTES IN CURRUMBIN
LABOR is trailing by only a few hundred votes in Currumbin with the result likely to be even closer than the tight finish in the March by election.
The Bulletin can reveal Labor’s Kaylee Campradt is 267 votes behind Currumbin LNP MP Laura Gerber as counting of the primary votes continue since Saturday’s State election.
The arrival of boxes of postal votes shows how close the contest will be with one lot on Monday containing 1091 votes for Ms Campradt and 1090 votes for Ms Gerber.
Ms Gerber is waiting for a result before making any further media comment.
Ms Campradt told the Bulletin: “It is closer than the March by election at this point. We knew it would come down to a handful of votes and that’s what is happening.”
On Sunday night she thanked friends and family for their support in a heartfelt Facebook post.
“It has been really hard, and we have done our very best,” she wrote.
“Every step has been a privilege because I love this community so much. Thank you.”
Supporters including Senator Murray Watt and surfing icon Andrew McKinnon also voiced their congratulations.
The Electoral Commission of Queensland set a date of November 10 for arrival of postal votes, and candidates are hoping a result will be known in Currumbin before then.
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Scrutineers suggest the count in Currumbin is slower than in neighbouring Burleigh.
ECQ staff in Currumbin are yet to conduct a full allocation of preferences as they wait for postal votes, so the count on a two-party preferred basis is only indicative.
The ECQ site shows that on an indicative count, Ms Gerber is on 50.52 per cent and Ms Campradt on 49.48 per cent.
One of the key factors to determine the result will be the number of votes Labor receives from preferences delivered by the support for independent candidate Dr Richard Stuckey.
The husband of former long standing Currumbin MP Jann Stuckey, Dr Stuckey has asked his supporters to direct their preferences to Ms Campradt.
Dr Stuckey has received 5.56 per cent of the primary vote, and The Greens’ Peter Burgoyne 9.84 per cent but there have been no real indications yet of the preference flow to Labor.
ALP strategists believe the vote for Dr Stuckey will be stronger in the pre-poll than on election day because he and his wife were attending the main booth every day.
But they know there is no guarantee rusted on LNP voters would preference Labor.
In March the unofficial indicative count on a two-party preferred basis had Ms Campradt on 48.52 per cent and Ms Gerber on 51.48 per cent.
After the official distribution of preferences, Ms Gerber’s vote dipped slightly to 51.23 per cent.
EARLIER:
HERE are the key Gold Coast seats which could determine whether Labor’s Annastacia Palaszczuk or the LNP’s Deb Frecklington is Premier in a majority or minority government.
GAVEN: Labor 0.71 per cent margin. MP: Meaghan Scanlon. Labor at $1.55 (Ladbrokes) to win.
The northern Gold Coast electorate is Labor’s only seat on the Gold Coast. Labor’s Meaghan Scanlon won office in 2017 with the help of preferences from the Greens. This time there is a One Nation candidate (Sharon Sewell) which could see Pauline Hanson supporters preferencing the LNP. Kirsten Jackson has doorknocked more than 8000 homes for the LNP. Ms Scanlon has built up a solid profile, worked hard in the community and her personal vote could see her survive any swing against the government on the COVID-closed border issue.
CURRUMBIN: LNP 3.3 per cent. MP: Laura Gerber. Labor at $2 (Ladbrokes).
The LNP’s Laura Gerber won the March by-election in a tight race with the ALP’s Kaylee Campradt. Ms Campradt returns for a much different contest given COVID-19 and the likely backlash from Coolangatta residents about Premier’s Annastacia Palaszczuk’s tough stand on closing the borders. But enter Dr Richard Stuckey, husband of former MP Jann Stuckey, and his decision to preference Labor. Ms Stuckey is a former minister with two decades of public office, so she and her husband have supporters. Ms Gerber has built up a strong profile in a short time but the Stuckey factor could bring her plans for a second term unstuck.
BURLEIGH: LNP 4.9 per cent. MP: Michael Hart. Labor at $3 (Ladbrokes).
The LNP has what should be a comfortable margin but this is a really interesting contest. Former world champion surfer Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew and his Labor team have forced Mr Hart, an LNP frontbencher, to put in $20,000 from his own pocket to boost his campaign. Labor has not had such a high-profile candidate in the past, or the Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk ducking down here for photo publicity walks on the beach. The margin, with Rabbit, could be much less than 4.85 per cent and the seat might be a shock win for Labor.
BONNEY: LNP 1.69 per cent. MP: Sam O’Connor. Labor at $3.75 (Ladbrokes).
Similar to Ms Scanlon in Gaven, Mr O’Connor is a young politician who works hard in the community and builds a profile talking to families outside the school gate along with other constituents on Facebook. Given no discernible swing, he should be swimming well in this seat. But this all changed when his leader Deb Frecklington was asked about whether she supports working with council on Mayor Tom Tate’s proposed offshore oceanside cruise ship terminal. She replied “yes”. Save Our Spit fired off a torpedoed into Mr O’Connor’s campaign on Facebook putting his headshot at the front of cruise ships.
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