Federal election 2019: Preference flows will be vital in Leichhardt

Warren Entsch with Minister for Skills and Vocational Education Senator Michaelia Cash. Picture: Peter Carruthers.

The Liberal-held seat of Leichhardt, which takes in Cairns and Cape York in far north Queensland, is the sort of electorate that tends to back Labor when it wins power.

The seat, where Bill Shorten is campaigning today, was in Labor hands during the whole time Bob Hawke and Paul Keating were in The Lodge, before Warren Entsch took it in John Howard’s 1996 landslide.

Entsch retired ahead of the 2007 election and it again went with Labor as Kevin Rudd swept into power.

But Entsch, a former crocodile farmer, took it back in 2010 and it has remained with him ever since. At this election he holds the seat with a margin of just under 4 per cent.

One wildcard in this seat will be how the minor parties and independents perform. At the last election the combined Labor and Liberal vote was only just over 67 per cent of total first preference votes cast.

Clive Palmer’s UAP is also fielding a candidate in Leichhardt. Picture: AAP.

Labor’s candidate is Elida Faith who emphasises her work helping vulnerable members of the community and volunteer work for a local animal action group.

The Greens, Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party, Bob Katter’s party and One Nation are all fielding candidates. So preferences flows this time will be vital.

The Opposition Leader’s visit today shows the seat is on his radar.

If Labor takes this one, Bill and Chloe might as well start measuring up the drapes to The Lodge.

• Sid Maher will call each and every seat as part of The Australian’s live coverage of Federal Election 2019 on Saturday, May 18. You can follow Sid on Twitter and read his latest stories here.