Queensland Election 2017: Fourth LNP defector to run for One Nation
A FOURTH former LNP MP has announced he will run under the One Nation banner in the November 25 poll.
QLD Election
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A FOURTH former LNP MP has announced he will run under the One Nation banner in the November 25 election.
One-term member for Logan Michael Pucci, who was turfed out of office in the 2015 poll, will contest the new southeast Queensland electorate of Jordan for the resurgent right-wing party.
Mr Pucci quit the LNP this year to work as One Nation’s campaign director.
He will become the fourth former LNP MP to run as a One Nation candidate, following in the footsteps of former Newman government minister Steve Dickson – now One Nation’s state leader – former member for Lytton Neil Symes, and former member for Thuringowa Sam Cox.
“When it comes to loyalty, I’m loyal to the … community,” he told The Courier-Mail.
“That’s why I left the LNP, because I didn’t feel like they were being loyal to the people.
“I fought against my own party (the LNP) on several issues.”
Mr Pucci conceded he was initially a little sceptical about joining One Nation, but said he believed the party was about “people before politics”.
“You want to know why we’re surging in the polls? Because we’re listening,” he said.
“One Nation allows us to be out there and do what’s right for the people, and not what’s right for the party.”
Mr Pucci is expected to announce his candidacy today.
The seat of Jordan, which is south of Brisbane and includes suburbs such as Greenbank and Springfield, was created in the boundary redistribution and is considered a safe Labor seat with a margin of about 13.5 per cent.
But One Nation is hoping it can claim the seat for its own in the party’s bid to hold the balance of power in the new Parliament.
The latest Galaxy poll showed One Nation’s support had jumped three points to 18 per cent – a result that is reminiscent of the 1998 election, when it won 11 seats.
Originally published as Queensland Election 2017: Fourth LNP defector to run for One Nation
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