LNP’s Laura Gerber returned as Member for Currumbin in state election
LNP Currumbin MP Laura Gerber has retained her seat – but it was a very tight race to the finish line.
Gold Coast
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THE LNP’s Laura Gerber has won the seat of Currumbin by a minuscule 310 votes and will remain the member for the Gold Coast’s most southern seat.
Ms Gerber said the Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) informed her on Wednesday night she had cinched the win over Labor’s Kaylee Campradt.
She said the swing against her was just under three per cent, but ECQ had not updated its website to reflect the latest numbers.
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Ms Campradt via Facebook confirmed the result, which came 11 days after the polls closed on October 31.
Ms Gerber was looking forward to a roast chicken dinner at home with her partner and children after she discovered she had been returned as MP.
She would be a “squeaky wheel” to keep the Queensland Labor Government on its toes, particularly around jobs and ongoing border woes, she said.
“It was very close. Counting finished just after 5.30pm and I found out then,” Ms Gerber said.
“I’m over the moon to be returned so I can continue to keep doing the work I’ve been doing for the people of Currumbin.
“I’m overwhelmed, I’m humbled and I’m very excited, very happy. (My husband and I) will probably have a glass of champers and put the kids to bed.
“My children were running around yelling ‘Mummy’s won’.”
Ms Gerber said it had been “challenging” waiting.
“As much as I’m sure it was for my opposition as well. Kaylee was in the same boat as me,” she said.
“I know there was a swing against the LNP across the state, but I didn’t receive as bad as a ding. It was obviously very close.”
Ms Gerber believes constant doorknocking and phone calls nudged her over the line.
She thanked Ms Campradt “for the campaign she ran” and the six other candidates in the race.
Ms Gerber was first elected Member for Currumbin in a March by-election, following the sudden resignation of long-running MP Jann Stuckey.
Her husband, Dr Richard Stuckey, ran against Ms Gerber as an independent in the election.
Ms Campradt, who also ran in the March by-election, posted a video to Facebook and said she was “sorry to report” she had “just missed out” on taking Currumbin.
“It was a really hard fought close contest and I congratulate Laura Gerber,” she said.
Ms Campradt also thanked her family and supporters.
“It’s been such a humbling experience running two elections this year. I’ve enjoyed absolutely every minute of it and I want to thank you for your support in this process,” she said.
Ms Campradt said she would not be going anywhere, but wrote she would “take a little break from public life”.
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