Campbell Newman cautions against complacency

CAMPBELL Newman is trying to hose down expectations that victory for his Liberal National Party is a foregone conclusion.

CAMPBELL Newman is trying to hose down expectations that victory for his Liberal National Party is a foregone conclusion tomorrow after two new polls showed he would comfortably win his individual contest with Labor in the bitterly-contested Brisbane seat of Ashgrove.

A Galaxy poll gave Mr Newman 52 per cent of the primary vote in Ashgrove, dashing Labor's last hope it could hamstring an incoming LNP government by taking out its leader.

A less reliable automated poll by ReachTEL put Mr Newman nearly 10 points ahead of the incumbent MP Kate Jones after preferences.

As Labor deployed the star power of former prime minister Bob Hawke to boost its flagging campaign, Mr Newman insisted yesterday the battle was not yet over in Ashgrove or at the state level. "It's the same as I have been saying all along, this is a really tough fight across the state," he said. "My request to Queenslanders is to remember that every single vote counts."

With all published opinion polls pointing to a heavy defeat for Labor tomorrow -- Galaxy last weekend suggested its parliamentary roster could be slashed from 51 MPs to a rump of less than 20 in the 89-seat parliament -- Anna Bligh vowed to campaign for every possible vote in a final push.

"I've said from the beginning we're going to be facing a very, very tough uphill battle . . . and it's getting tougher as we get closer to polling day," the Premier said yesterday, midway through a day that started at 8am and was due to finish at 2 o'clock this morning.

"I'm going to be relentless in my pursuit of any undecided votes. I don't care where they are or what time of day it is, if there's a Queenslander who's still making up their mind I am not going to miss the chance to talk to them."

Mr Hawke insisted Ms Bligh was right to try to save what she could for Labor in the face of the overwhelming polls for Mr Newman and the LNP.

"You've got to accept polls are polls," Mr Hawke said.

"You don't ignore polls, you are a bloody idiot . . . it's sensible to tailor your campaigning in terms of what the polls indicate."

Another former prime minister, John Howard, praised Mr Newman's decision to back himself and run in Ashgrove.

"My guess is that Queenslanders will reward his courage," the former Liberal leader said.