Federal Election 2025: Gold Coast candidates talk to businesses on costs, energy and complacency

Power and climate change, support for businesses, light rail and who can be the friendliest with Donald Trump are shaping as key issues ahead of the yet-to-be-called federal election. Read more

Electricity and climate change, support for businesses, the future of light rail and who can be the friendliest with Donald Trump are shaping as key issues ahead of the yet-to-be-called federal election.

Around 110 business owners heard from candidates in the Gold Coast’s key three federal seats, with independents pleading their cases alongside LNP incumbents and contenders.

No Labor candidates attended and there was no sign of representatives from Clive Palmer’s “Trumpet of Patriots”.

There was, however, one Trumpish moment on stage, with Libertarian candidate for McPherson Gary Biggs bringing a plastic chainsaw onstage, in a nod to the US President’s right-hand man of the moment Elon Musk.

Libertarian candidate for McPherson Gary Biggs, who brought a plastic chainsaw to the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce Meet the Federal Candidates Breakfast. Photo: Kathleen Skene

McPherson, which is held on a 9.3 per cent margin by the LNP, is up for grabs following the resignation of Karen Andrews, who held the seat for almost 15 years.

Independent candidate Erchana Murray-Bartlett said the LNP was taking Gold Coast voters for granted.

“When a party assumes they have your vote, the needs of the community fall by the wayside,” she said.

Mr Biggs, a businessman whose Libertarian Party advocates reduced government and increased personal freedom, said he was running for election because other candidates were “stealing other people’s stuff”.

“I haven’t heard a single candidate yet that has said, ‘We will ease the tax burden on families’,” he said.

Mr Biggs used the federal election platform to attack Gold Coast City Council planning policies, saying “it shouldn’t take a year to get a house approval”.

“What are you going to do to improve the service of the council? That’s what they do for us – they don’t just take our taxes to employ themselves to earn half a million a year for all the head officers,” he said.

“These people need to be having better accountability, that’s where the Libertarians sit and that’s why I’ve got a chainsaw there.”

Independent candidate for McPherson Erchana Murray-Bartlett at the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce Meet the Federal Candidates Breakfast. Photo: Kathleen Skene

LNP contender Leon Robello lamented a high rate of company insolvencies in the past year, in particular in construction and hospitality.

“That’s thousands of jobs gone and thousands of livelihoods lost,” he said.

“Under the Albanese Government, the cost and complexity of doing business has made it unattractive to do business.”

Mr Robello said having a “united state and federal LNP team” would deliver “generational infrastructure” for the Gold Coast.

In Moncrieff, where LNP incumbent Angie Bell holds an 11.2 per cent margin, independent and Greens contenders repeated the assertion the coalition did not deliver for the city.

Independent candidate Nicole Arrowsmith said current LNP members were lacklustre on housing, cost of living, the economy, public transport and the environment.

“When was the last time a major party asked our community to contribute to their policies?,” she said.

“Do you want someone who will stand up for our community? Do you want someone to finally start fighting for our fair share, or are you just going to stick with the same old, same old?”

LNP incumbent for Moncrieff Angie Bell at the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce Meet the Federal Candidates Breakfast. Photo: Kathleen Skene

A stage-seasoned Ms Bell, addressing the crowd as “friends”, said the nation “couldn’t afford” another term with Labor in charge.

Ms Bell spruiked her party’s policies for business, including an expansion of the instant asset write-off and $20,000 tax cuts for businesses to “take your team to lunch”, which would flow on to hospitality businesses.

“We’re going to rein in the wasteful spending that this Labor Government has spent into our economy which has kept inflation high and pressure on interest rates,” she said.

“We want to see housing affordability for all Australians and we have a policy that will deliver 500,000 new houses, in terms of paying for critical infrastructure for those houses.”

Under questioning, Ms Bell conceded that funding, for greenfield housing sites, would not really apply in her electorate.

Greens candidate Sally Spain covered a lot of ground in her three-minute introduction, quoting former Gold Coast CEO Dr Douglas Daines, who said “we should have swinging electorates if we were going to get the kind of funding that we deserve”.

“It’s patently obvious that we have been neglected in terms of the Gold Coast,” she said.

“The Greens will not allow that to happen, and I certainly will not.”

Ms Spain said all residents, including vulnerable members of Indigenous and LGBTI communities, should be considered at a federal level and that high-earning resources companies should be paying a fair share of tax.

“The top of the market is what is squeezing the middle class out and making the lower class more vulnerable and disadvantaged,” she said.

“The top companies who take out our resources should owe Australians.”

Fadden independent candidate Stewart Brooker at the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce Meet the Federal Candidates Breakfast. Photo: Kathleen Skene

Contender for the northern Gold Coast seat of Fadden, where former councillor Cameron Caldwell is the LNP incumbent, face a margin of 10.6 per cent.

Repeat independent candidate Stewart Brooker said minority governments got more done.

“That’s why I’m running, we’ve had the same meat-and-potato parties – we need something different because what we’ve been doing hasn’t been working for the past two decades, so I’m offering something different,” he said.

Mr Brooker said travel was a priority for Fadden, with work needed to improve Coomera Connector feeder roads, public transport and active transport solutions.

Greens candidate and former high school teacher Andrew Stimson said his party was deeply concerned about the koala population being impacted by the Coomera Connector.

“I’m not against the Coomera Connector totally because we understand that the M1 is pretty much in gridlock … it’s actually becoming unsafe,” he said.

“But it’s a balancing act of you’ve got to look after the environment and our wildlife as well as that.”

Mr Stimson agreed the feeder roads, including Helensvale and Foxwell roads, needed urgent attention.

Greens candidate for Fadden Andrew Stimson at the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce Meet the Federal Candidates Breakfast. Photo: Kathleen Skene

Mr Caldwell said it was a “shameful indictment on the Federal Government” that no Labor candidates had shown up.

“They are the alternative government to Peter Dutton being Prime Minister and I think it’s an awful shame that their candidates are either incapable or unwilling to turn up to see you this morning,” he said.

Mr Caldwell said the Opposition’s Budget in Reply would “return prosperity” the nation.

“The last thing Australia needs is another three years of Labor Government, this time supported by a whole rainbow of colours of independents, of Greens and Teals and who knows what else.”