Queensland state election 2024: Herman Vorster’s triumphant win for LNP in Burleigh

Former Gold Coast councillor Hermann Vorster has made a stunning splash in state politics, taking Burleigh from a marginal seat to an LNP strong hold. HOW HE DID IT

Incoming Burleigh MP Hermann Vorster says he never would have believed he’d be elected to parliament when he arrived in Australia as a 15-year-old immigrant.

Mr Vorster, 39, will succeed retiring long-time incumbent Michael Hart in the southern Gold Coast seat, which the LNP has held since 2012.

The former city councillor spent 52 weeks campaigning in Burleigh, including eight months without income after he retired from local politics in March.

Mr Vorster, who was born in South Africa and grew up in New Zealand, said he was delighted by the result, which saw Burleigh become one of the LNP’s safest Gold Coast seats after being marginal for several terms.

Hermann Vorster and his wife Melissa with worn-out shoes and his volunteers at Burleigh Heads on election day. Picture by Richard Gosling

“I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to serve the Gold Coast, let alone Queensland but Australian democracy is really accessible and voters will always reward hard work,” he said.

“I am really humbled by that result and it creates an awesome responsibility to honour the sacrifices of my volunteers and meet the expectations of locals who wanted change and want politics to be done differently.

“Safety was number one issue, particularly for those who thought Burleigh had become unsafe and almost alien to the relaxed coastal village they know.”

Hermann Vorster as a Somerset College student in August 2002.

Mr Vorster graduated from Somerset College in 2002 before studying at Bond University and working for his family’s manufacturing business.

“At age 15 I arrived on the Gold Coast to start a new life and I couldn’t have imagined the opportunities which opened up, because it’s where I met my wife and where I got a full scholarship to study at university,” he said.

He joined the Liberal Party following John Howard’s 2007 defeat and went on to become president of the LNP’s youth wing.

Mr Vorster first came to public note as Mayor Tom Tate’s spin doctor before getting elected to the council in March 2016 where he soon became well-known for his enthusiastic campaigns against youth criminals and vandalism.

Mr Vorster in 2016 when he was elected to the Gold Coast City Council Picture Glenn Hampson

He retired from the council in March after securing LNP preselection in Burleigh following Mr Hart’s retirement after four terms.

Mr Vorster said the long campaign had taken a toll.

“I have no idea what the next few days and weeks hold but I will spend time with my wife and kids who have really carried the biggest sacrifice of the past 52 weeks as I left paid employment to go and knock on doors,” he said.

“The burden of that decision fell on my family so I will spend as much time as I can with them.

“My campaign was power by community members I met along the way, many of whom were not LNP members but they believed a change of government was necessary and wanted to fight for change, especially those let down by the housing system.”