State Election 2017: Gold Coast MP Jann Stuckey surives election after Labor campaign

ONE of the Gold Coast’s longest-serving MPs is in the crosshairs with questions over their future despite surviving a push by Labor to win back the seat.

VETERAN Gold Coast MP Jann Stuckey has a target on her political career.

From Labor and within her own party.

The LNP MP beat rising Labor candidate Georgi Leader on Saturday night to defend her Currumbin seat and claim a sixth term in parliament. As of last night, her margin was eroded to 2.5 per cent or about 1000 votes.

She received around 2000 votes more in the 2015 election.

Jann Stuckey. Photo by Richard Gosling

LNP party strategists and commentators said Ms Stuckey would be under enormous pressure to retire before the 2020 election because the electorate would be aggressively targeted by Labor.

“A 2.5 per cent vote is eminently winnable and Currumbin will definitely be on Labor’s radar at the next election,” Griffith University political analyst Dr Paul Williams said.

“Indeed this may also put pressure on the older members to retire to allow for an injection of new blood.”

Paul Williams of Griffith University

An LNP strategist said: “Jann and other long-time members are going to be under a lot of pressure now to consider their futures in the current parliamentary term.

“There’s going to be a serious look at the performance of the local members in seats as well as at at the campaign we ran overall.”

However, Ms Stuckey, 62, said she already was planning to defend her seat in 2020 because she was passionate about her community.

“I am grateful to the people of Currumbin for recognising I love serving this community,” the former Commonwealth Games minister said.

Jann Stuckey - Photo Steve Pohlner

“Currumbin to me has always been a marginal seat and I never stop campaigning at the election — I keep going towards the next one because there are always community issues to deal with,” .

“This one was tougher than the past two but I fought for five years to win this seat the first time so I will keep fighting for it — you can never take it for granted.”

Ms Stuckey, then a Liberal, who won the seat as a Liberal in 2004 from Labor incumbent Merri Rose, admitted she was left shaken on election day after her car windscreen was found smashed after stopping at a polling booth at Tallebudgera.

Ms Stuckey reported the incident to police and said she did not know who did it.

FEBRUARY 8, 2004 : Queensland Liberal Leader Bob Quinn with Jann Stuckey & John-Paul Langbroek.