Hart and Hislop in bizarre clash as battle of Burleigh heats up

IT’S bizarre, bitter and the most brutal political battle on the Gold Coast. Welcome to the Burleigh polling booth.

Burleigh MP Michael Hart’s pre-poll booth has been the most volatile on the Coast. Picture: Regi Varghese

IT’S bizarre, bitter and the most brutal political battle on the Gold Coast. Welcome to the Burleigh polling booth.

Burleigh LNP MP Michael Hart and his Labor opponent Gail Hislop have been trading verbal punches for the past week.

Mr Hart on Tuesday sent a text to the Bulletin which included photographs of his corflutes — each one next to a Labor poster all ripped down off fences.

“Yes, mine are all ripped down. Hers are still there,” he wrote.

Ms Hislop the following day called after estimating more than 100 of her corflutes had been destroyed overnight.

“Guess what — Michael Hart’s have gone up in their place. It’s unusual,” Ms Hislop said.

Labor candidate for Burleigh Gail Hislop with one of her signs before it was knocked down. Picture Mike Batterham

In what rates as the Coast campaign’s most peculiar moment so far, Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey fronted Mr Hart at the Park Avenue polling booth.

Voters watched open mouthed as the Minister accused the LNP of “not having spent a dollar” on the M1 and of ignoring the issue.

Mr Bailey then tore a page out of what appeared to be a ministerial file and thrust it into Mr Hart’s hand before stalking off.

Mr Hart later recognised it was a letter he had sent to Mr Bailey of “a business case for the extension of the M1” upgrade from Mudgeeraba to the NSW Border to enable him to lobby the Federal government for the upgrade.

Mr Hart told the Bulletin: “It was out of the blue. I had a mobile telephone video shoved in my face. I don’t know what that was about.

“(Currumbin Labor candidate) Georgi Leader was taking video as well. I assumed it was some sort of set up. I assume he didn’t get the reaction he desired.”

Mermaid Beach independent Mona Hecke has been at the Burleigh booth.

Mr Hart said his rival, Ms Hislop, was not at the booth during the Minister’s visit.

“She has to drive all the way from Runaway Bay (where she lives). By the time she gets here she is worn out,” he said.

In the latest twist, Mermaid Beach MP Ray Stevens has accused independent candidate Mona Hecke of being a “Labor stooge” after an ALP booth worker was photographed with her how-to-vote leaflets.

“A vote for Mona Hecke is clearly a vote for the Labor Party under compulsory preferential voting,” Mr Stevens said.

Ms Hecke and Ms Hislop later said the volunteer was only helping to put the leaflets on a table as a courtesy.

“What a crazy comment. I’m not impressed at all. Come election day, he might be the stooge,” Ms Hecke said.

Ms Hislop told the Bulletin: “Old Shakin’ Stevens and Hart are conspiring. Those two lazy candidates have nothing better to do than conspire.”