Qld election 2024: Gympie voters begin pre-polling

LNP voters outnumbered those going for the other parties in Gympie on the first day of pre-polling, as some shared the issues that worried and irritated them most so far in the state election campaign.

An early favourite, two close calls in traffic, and a visit from a Queensland senator were among the major events on Day One of state election pre-polling in the Gympie region.

Volunteers staked out in the gauntlet at the Gympie Senior Citizens Centre’s pre-polling booth were greeted by a steady stream or early voters, who were the big winners of the day as they encountered little to no lines or wait times while casting their votes.

A snap small sample exit poll of 20 day one voters showed incumbent LNP Tony Perrett was the preferred choice by slightly more than 50 per cent of voters.

Labor’s Lachlan Anderson and One Nation’s Katy McCallum were locked neck and neck with slightly less than a quarter of respondents each backing those parties.

Squealing tyres were another feature of the first day of pre-polling.

The high volume of pedestrian and vehicle traffic leading to two close calls in a 30 minute span.

The first was when a pedestrian crossed the road near a designated crossing area that is not actually marked by zebra paint, and the second a close call with a car trying to turn into the centre’s parking lot.

Voters who passed through the booth’s doors themselves did not have their choice swayed by the first two weeks of campaigning.

Ralph Tickle, 90, said he “always” intended to vote for LNP.

Cost of living was the main issue driving his decision, Mr Tickle said, and he was not a fan of one of Labor’s new policies rolled out as part of its campaign, free primary school lunches for students.

“I think it’s a stupid idea,” Mr Tickle said.

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Voters looking to avoid the election day line-ups at Gympie by getting early were rewarded, with long wait times non-existent on day one of early voting.

Lloyd Allen was similarly not convinced to change his vote by the first weeks of the campaign.

Mr Allen voted for the LNP, saying Labor “haven’t done a thing right”.

“They just know how to spend money, they don’t know how to earn it.”

Youth crime, cost of living, and housing were his key concerns, and the lead-up to pre-polling had not swayed his vote.

Labor voter Richard Baxter did not change his mind in the lead-up either.

Mr Baxter put Mr Anderson number one on the ballot, as voting for the party was what he had “always” done.

He was not a fan of the election bombshell dropped by Robbie Katter at the start of the campaign’s second week, either.

“I don’t like all the anti-abortion thing by Katter,” Mr said

“That affect … our electorate but nevertheless I still don’t like it.”

Labor voter Richard Baxter did not change his mind in the lead-up either. Mr Baxter put Mr Anderson number one on the ballot, as voting for the party was what he had “always” done.

He was, however, unconvinced by Labor’s latest promise of free school lunch policy given it was already providing other “free” initiatives like the 50c public transport fares.

“They’ve already offered enough,” he said

“I didn’t see the point.”

The centre was also the first stop on One Nation senator’s Malcolm Roberts’ itinerary.

Mr Roberts, who was in the region for a meet-and-greet with One Nation’s senior leaders including Pauline Hanson and Ms McCallum, paid a brief visit to the polling booth at midday.

Mr Roberts said the Gympie booth was his first “data collection point”.

He said the issues driving Gympie voters’s decisions it were “same issues everywhere”.

Cost of living “was a huge one”, along with infrastructure, crime and housing.

The renewable energy debate, and construction of large scale projects in the region, was a hot topic for the region’s voters too.

One Nation’s position on the abortion debate was clear too.

“We want to wind it back to the way it was before the latest change that Labor brought in, with the help of some LNP members of parliament,” Mr Roberts said.

Originally published as Qld election 2024: Gympie voters begin pre-polling