LNP Stephen Bennett retains Burnett, Labor’s Tom Smith takes early lead in Bundaberg

Incumbent Bundaberg Labor MP Tom Smith has started strong in his fight to retain the state’s most marginal seat, while the surrounding LNP stronghold of Burnett will remain held by the party.

Incumbent Burnett LNP MP Stephen Bennett will retain his seat after a strong showing in the electorate, while the nearby marginal seat is leaning towards staying in Labor’s hands.

Mr Bennett has received 47 per cent of the primary vote with almost 20 per cent of the electorate counted, giving him a strong lead over main Labor competitor Kerri Morgan who has claimed 25 per cent.

One Nation’s Arno Blank is a distant third with 14 per cent.

Mr Bennett declined to declare victory himself Saturday night saying he was going to wait for the counting process to be concluded before making any claim, but agreed “the numbers are looking good”.

The fight for the Bundaberg seat is tilting towards Labor, with incumbent MP Tom Smith holding a strong lead in his battle to keep it for a second term.

Mr Smith has received 43 per cent of the first vote with 18 per cent of Bundaberg counted, with star LNP candidate Bree Watson sitting on 31 per cent in second.

Preferences are expected to play a key role in the eventual winner with One Nation’s Alberto Carvalho in third with 8 per cent, followed by Legalise Cannabis Queensland’s Ian Zunker in fourth at 7 per cent and the Greens Nat Baker with 4 per cent.

Earlier, Mr Smith said the abortion debate was an election defining moment which would influence the outcome of the state election as he continued campaigning down to the wire for the state’s most marginal seat.

Mr Smith, who won the seat in 2020 by nine votes, said late on Saturday afternoon the bombshell proposal in the second week of the campaign by a Katter Party MP to introduce a private members’ bill seeking to overturn the state’s abortion laws may well have changed the election’s course.

“It’s very clear the number one issue at this election is a referendum on abortion,” Mr Smith said while campaigning at the Avoca voting booth.

“People do no want to see abortion laws in this state go backwards,” he said.

Bundaberg election volunteers Mia Geddes and Judy Peters outside the Bundaberg South State School booth.

“When we talk about adult crime, adult time, which the LNP do, they haven’t come out and said … will a 14-year-old girl accessing healthcare for reproductive rights in Queensland be considered a criminal facing adult time?”

It was a subject that divided the community – at times against Mr Smith.

Election volunteers Debbie Findlay, Cheryl Durron, and Lyndal Watson at the Electra St polling booth.

“There’s been people that voted for me because of my stance on abortion, and there’s been people that said they can’t support me because of my stance on abortion,” Mr Smith said.

“Win or lose, it doesn’t matter, as long as the election was run fairly and everyone got to exercise their right to cast their ballot.”

Volunteers Richard Pascoe, Andy Watson, and Matt Brennan take a break as voter numbers dwindle late in the afternoon.

Mr Smith will learn in the next few hours what his chances of retaining the seat are after thousands of residents hit the streets of Bundaberg and the Burnett to have their say on the future of the state.

Mr Smith beat the Saturday rush by voting on Friday, and spent election day continuing his campaign at the electorate’s booths.

One Nation volunteer David Zahn on Saturday.

LNP candidate Bree Watson, who is fighting to unseat Mr Smith, headed to Avoca on Saturday morning to cast her ballot while the LNP’s incumbent Burnett MP Stephen Bennett dropped his ballot in the polling booth box at Bargara.

QLDVOTES24: Bundaberg LNP candidate Bree Watson casts her ballot at the Avoca polling booth,

Counting is underway for the Burnett and Bundaberg, seats of political extremes in 2024, home not only to one of Queensland’s key battlegrounds but also one of its safest.

All eyes on Saturday night will be focused on Bundaberg, won by Mr Smith in 2020 with a 0.01 per cent margin.

Bundaberg Labor MP Tom Smith, who voted Friday, with one of his booth volunteers as the incumbent continued campaigning on election day.

Ms Watson, making her first tilt at state politics, is standing for the seat after stints as CEO of Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers and chair of the Queensland Horticultural Council.

She has been an outspoken critic of the Labor government’s handling of Paradise Dam, one of several major issues at the centre of the 2024 election battle in the region.

Burnett LNP MP Stephen Bennett votes at Bargara on election day.

Power bill relief, progress on the new Bundaberg Hospital, crime and cost of living have been hot local issues in the four-week campaign, while Ms Watson came under fire herself from Mr Smith over her stance on abortion after a Katter Party MP raised the possibility of introducing a private members bill to overturn the laws.

Questions to Ms Watson on the matter were instead addressed by an LNP spokeswoman, who said repealing the laws was not part of the LNP plan.

All eyes on Saturday will be on Bundaberg, the state’s most marginal seat after it was won in 2020 by first-time MP and former schoolteacher Tom Smith with a 0.01 per cent margin.

Ms Watson has not directly stated her position on the subject.

Other contenders for the Bundaberg seat include the Greens’ Nat Baker, Independent Alan Corbett, Legalise Cannabis Queensland’s Ian Zunker, One Nation’s Alberto Carvalho and Independent Geoff Warham.

Burnett has been held by LNP MP Stephen Bennett since 2012, with the long term parliamentarian retaining the seat in 2020 by a 10.8 per cent margin.

Surrounding the key election battleground is one of the LNP’s safest seats.

Burnett has been held by LNP MP Stephen Bennett since 2012, with the long term parliamentarian retaining the seat in 2020 by a 10.8 per cent margin.

Between 2016 and 2020 Mr Bennett served as opposition spokesman for portfolios including environment, housing, veterans, and child safety.

His main competition for the seat on Saturday is Labor candidate Kerri Morgan, who is running for the second time.

Ms Morgan lost the 2020 election fight by more than 6800 votes after preferences.

One Nation’s Arno Blank, Legalise Cannabis Queensland’s Malcolm Parry, the Greens Esther Vale, and Independent Paul Hudson are also vying for the Burnett seat.

Electoral Commission Queensland figures show as of 2024, 41,976 registered voters were living in the Burnett.

Bundaberg is home to 37,986 registered voters, the ECQ data shows.

Originally published as LNP Stephen Bennett retains Burnett, Labor’s Tom Smith takes early lead in Bundaberg