Voters head to the polling booths to vote for state MPs in Central Qld
Labor is under real threat of losing its stronghold of Rockhampton and the seats of Keppel, Callide and Gladstone have been called. See our election day blog here.
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Central Queenslanders went to the polls in today’s state election with a number of hotly contested seats sitting on a knife-edge.
Labor is under real threat of losing its stronghold of Rockhampton in the face of a statewide swing to the LNP.
However, the seats of Gladstone, Callide and Gregory look set to remain in the hands of their current parties.
Rockhampton-based National Party Senator Matt Canavan said the LNP was in a strong position to win the primary vote in Rockhampton, Keppel and possibly Mirani.
“It’ll be pretty close (preference counting) depending on where people finish, in second, third or even fourth place,” he said.
He was unsure of when Rockhampton and Keppel would be decided due to the uncertainty of how preferences will flow.
Read rolling results on Saturday evening and in the Courier Mail’s live election blog.
ROCKHAMPTON
Labor is under real threat of losing its stronghold of Rockhampton in the state election following a statewide swing to the LNP and strong Independent candidates.
Labor candidate Craig Marshall, a healthcare worker and foster carer, was striving to retain the seat for his party following the retirement of Barry O’Rourke who won in 2017 after succeeding Bill Byrne who retired due to ill-health.
While leading the primary vote on 32.34 per cent at 7.30 last night preferences will put him in danger of losing his seat.
The LNP is making a fierce bid with businesswoman and former regional councillor Donna Kirkland at 24.05 per cent while independent and former Rockhampton Mayor Margaret Strelow remained a strong contender with 16.56 per cent of the vote.
Labor has dominated elections in Rockhampton since the seat was first created in 1865 and it was one of only seven seats it won in the 2013 landslide loss to the LNP despite a 14 per cent swing against it there.
Find out more about all of the candidates.
KEPPEL
Labor Keppel MP Brittany Lauga has conceded defeat with LNP candidate Nigel Hutton holding 34.84 per cent of the votes counted.
Speaking to Labor supporters, she said they had achieved amazing things in her time at Queensland Parliament.
“I feel your heart breaking, because my heart has broken too,” she told her supporters.
“We have worked so hard for our community.
Ms Lauga has 31.63 per cent and One Nation’s James Ashby has 23.68 per cent of the vote.
The 2024 result was expected to come down to preferences and a counting for the three-cornered contest could have gone into next week.
Mr Hutton, the former Livingstone deputy mayor and Pauline Hanson’s right hand man were vying to take the seat from Ms Lauga, the Assistant Minister for Health, who has held Keppel since 2015.
Ms Lauga beat the LNP candidate at the 2020 election with a 5.6 per cent margin after preferences with One Nation in third but exit polling indicates those parties have closed the gap with high profile candidates.
Before counting started, Mr Ashby said: “Mate, it’s been brilliant and it’s brilliant because we are getting change, whether I win or Nigel wins. There is change coming.”
“We have more than 100 volunteers (at polling booths) and they all said the thing, ‘she’s (Brittant Lauga) gone’,” he said.
Mr Ashby said he felt “good” about his chances of winning the seat.
“It’ll come down to preferences. You’ve got to remember less than 40 per cent of people took how to vote cards,” he said.
“So even though Labor was preferencing me last if people don’t take how to vote cards their preferences spray all over the place.
“So it’s a real positive for me. The less how to vote cards that got handed out the more encouragement there was for me.”
Find out more about all of the candidates.
GLADSTONE
In Gladstone, sitting member and Labor Minister for Water and Regional Development Glenn Butcher is expected to retain the seat given his 26 per cent majority (after preferences at the 2020 election).
In 2000, he improved that first preference vote to 64.4 per cent with the LNP second on 15.2 per cent and recorded a 26.5 per cent margin after preferences.
The Labor Minister for Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water’s main opposition was the LNP’s Steve Askew who was an industrial services contract manager.
Find out more about all of the candidates.
CALLIDE
The seat of Callide is LNP heartland with Bryson Head winning the 2022 by election with a 28.3 per cent margin following the resignation of Colin Boyce, now the Federal member for Flynn.
Labor’s Bronwyn Dendle is running again after finishing second in 2022.
Find out more about all of the candidates.
GREGORY
The LNP will retain the outback seat of Gregory, with popular Barcaldine Shire Council Mayor and fifth generation Alpha grazier Sean Dillon taking over for retiring MP, Lachlan Millar.
Mr Dillon had 52.04 per cent of the vote with 37.90 per cent counted.
Aramac resident Rebecca Humphreys is the Labor challenger who works as a communications officer for the Queensland Teachers Union.
Ms Humphreys had 24.97 per cent of the vote.
Mr Millar won the 2020 election with a margin of 32.8 per cent after preferences.
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Originally published as Voters head to the polling booths to vote for state MPs in Central Qld
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