Natalie Marr named as LNP candidate for Thuringowa
Incumbent Thuringowa MP Aaron Harper now knows who he’ll be facing when Queenslanders go to the polls in October next year.
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Incumbent Thuringowa MP Aaron Harper now knows who he’ll be facing when Queenslanders go to the polls in October next year.
Local businesswoman and former Townsville City Councillor Natalie Marr will once again look to win the marginal seat, with Thuringowa, Townsville and Mundingburra all in the opposition’s sights.
Ms Marr is one of the first three candidates preselected by the LNP for the upcoming election, announced this morning alongside the candidates for the seats of Cairns and Redlands.
Ms Marr, who once chaired the Townsville Crime Stoppers Volunteer Committee and was previously the vice president of the LNP’s state apparatus, also contested the seat in 2020.
“I am excited to be joining the Crisafulli LNP Team at such an important time for our community and our state,” Ms Marr said.
“As both a long-term volunteer for Crime Stoppers Townsville and as a real estate professional, I see on a daily basis the impact the crime and housing crisis’ are bearing on our local community.
“I’m determined to stand up for the North down in Brisbane, so issues like the youth crime epidemic affecting our city are not just heard, but dealt with, with regional Queensland at the top of mind.”
At the culmination of the 2020 campaign, Mr Harper retained his seat on a 3.25 per-cent margin, making it a highly prized battleground.
The LNP will need to gain 13 seats in order to be able to form a working majority, meaning the seats of Townsville MP Scott Stewart and Mundingburra MP Les Walker, held on margins of 3.1 per-cent and 3.9 per-cent respectively, will be high value targets for the party led by David Crisafulli.
Mr Harper said his focus remained on his electorate with the election over a year away.
“I’ve been a member since 2015, I’ve gone through three elections, right now I’m concentrating on delivering close to 300 million worth of job generating infrastructure,” He said.
“The election’s not until 2024, I’m going to buckle down and get on with the job.”
Mr Harper said it was ‘always difficult’ for someone to put their name forward as a political candidate.
“But right now, for me, everything’s concentrated on delivering election commitments like Riverway Drive Stage 2, the Kirwan Health campus redevelopment, and of course our 1300 Smiles police precinct and academy,” he said.
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Originally published as Natalie Marr named as LNP candidate for Thuringowa
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