Fadden by-election result shows Labor honeymoon over: new MP Cameron Caldwell

The newly-elected LNP candidate for the Gold Coast seat of Fadden, Cameron Caldwell, says the swing to the opposition is a clear sign the Labor Government’s honeymoon is over.

Incoming LNP member for Fadden, Cameron Caldwell, with wife Lauren and Clementine on Sunday. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Newly-elected Liberal MP for Fadden Cameron Caldwell says the result of the Fadden by-election shows the honeymoon period for Labor is over and that concern over the Indigenous voice is high.

Speaking to The Australian on Sunday after claiming the blue-ribbon Liberal National Party seat spanning the northern end of the Gold Coast, Mr Caldwell said the 2.54 per cent swing against the government reflected broader angst in the community over the cost of living and inflation.

“Labor has been throwing fuel on the inflationary fire and their policy settings … over the last 12 months are really starting to hurt families,” the local councillor turned incoming MP said. “The issues that were coming through loud and clear as I got around the community were the cost of living, local crime and the delivery of infrastructure.”

Mr Caldwell also said his opposition to the voice reflected the mood of the northern Gold Coast electorate, with the lack of detail among the largest concern with constituents.

“They’re very concerned about the risks, the lack of detail and … that it will be a divisive outcome, whatever the result of this referendum,” he said.

“I think there was something to read into this by-election results in relation to the voice, and I think really, the framework that’s been put forward and the lack of detail really ought to be reviewed by the Prime Minister.”

Little more than three-quarters of the electorate turned out to vote in Saturday’s by-election, sparked by the resignation of former Morrison government minister Stuart Robert.

Labor candidate Letitia Del Fabbro – who campaigned on a platform of “cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines and energy rebates” – received 36.83 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote. She had previously ran against Mr Robert in the federal election and attracted a 3.6 per cent swing.

The low turnout saw the Green’s primary vote slip to fifth, behind Legalise Cannabis Australia and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, shedding close to 4.25 per cent. The party did not undertake an extensive grassroots door-knock campaign that proved successful in the inner-city Brisbane seats of Griffith, Brisbane, and Ryan at the last election.

Mr Caldwell, a solicitor, said he believed the LNP, headed by leader Peter Dutton, would enter the next election on solid footings.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles suggested the swing result was “lethargic” for the opposition, which spent more than $600,000 on the campaign, while Jim Chalmers said the result was “entirely what was expected”.

Mackenzie Scott