Election 2022: UAP preferences in Chisholm give Liberals a boost

The United Australia Party has preferenced Liberal MP Gladys Liu in the Melbourne seat of Chisholm, increasing the chances of the government holding the key marginal seat.

Chisholm MP Gladys Liu. Picture: Jason Edwards

The United Australia Party has preferenced Liberal MP Gladys Liu in the Melbourne seat of Chisholm, increasing the chances of the government holding the key marginal seat that is being targeted by Labor.

With polling booths opening on Monday, it emerged Ms Liu was placed third on the how-to-vote card for UAP’s Chisholm candidate Melanie Kempson, compared to 11th for Labor candidate Carina Garland.

Labor sources told The Australian ahead of the campaign Chisholm was a “must win” to ensure Anthony Albanese secured a majority win at the May 21 election, with the seat being held by Ms Liu on a margin of 0.5 per cent.

But Liberal sources are increasingly confident of holding on to the seat and believe Labor is shifting resources towards Higgins, where incumbent MP Katie Allen’s primary vote has dropped to 42 per cent.

UAP founder Clive Palmer last year suggested the party would preference sitting MPs last, but earlier this year watered that down and said the major parties would be at the bottom of the ticket.

Labor sources say the UAP is preferencing the Coalition ahead of the ALP in most seats, including the Melbourne seat of McEwen and the Queensland seats of Longman and Flynn.

Pollster Kos Samaras, a director of Redbridge Group, said UAP preferences would give the Coalition an electoral boost on May 21. “The UAP vote is going to be at a substantial level at middle urban to outer urban regional electorates,” Mr Samaras said. “It is there where the preferences may indeed have an impact.”

Benched Education Minister Alan Tudge, meanwhile, was seen in public for the first time in the campaign handing out how-to-vote cards in his seat of Aston. And in the Sydney seat of Mackellar, the Liberal Party is claiming independent candidate Sophie Scamps may have breached electoral rules by offering free coffee outside polling booths.