Kate Jones on for Campbell Newman prize fight

QUEENSLAND Labor is moving quickly to lock in Kate Jones to stand against Campbell Newman in the Brisbane seat of Ashgrove.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman. Picture: Jono Searle

QUEENSLAND Labor is moving quickly to lock in Kate Jones to stand against Campbell Newman in the marginal Brisbane seat of Ashgrove.

The former state environment minister who lost the leafy electorate to the Queensland Premier in 2012 has told ALP officials she will run and the preselection has now been set for October 31.

Ms Jones has made no public comment about her candidacy, and it is believed she won’t confirm her return to politics and the campaign trail until nominations for the seat open on October 13. It is believed Ms Jones, who gave birth to her second child this year, may still face an internal challenge from Rod Harding. Ms Jones has the overwhelming support of the local ALP branch.

Labor’s administrative committee on Monday night voted to lock in the preselection date and launch the local campaign against Mr Newman.

The contest will be the prize fight in next year’s election, with Mr Newman holding the seat on a 5.7 per cent margin and his personal popularity plummeting since he led the Liberal National Party to the biggest electoral victory in Australian since Federation.

An ALP insider said Ms Jones had delayed making a decision on whether to contest the election because of her family commitments. “It is going to be a bloody battle; Newman will throw everything at her,’’ the source said. “The polling done for Labor several months ago has her slightly ahead on a ­
two-party-preferred basis, but a lot of work needs to be done.’’

Last week, speculation grew that Ms Jones was standing for re-election after Labor registered the domain “katejones.com.au’’.

The last Newspoll, in June, showed the LNP is trailing Labor 49 per cent to 51 per cent after preferences, a swing of almost 14 percentage points since the election. If the swing was uniform, Mr Newman would lose his seat. He is now among the most unpopular Queensland premiers of the modern era .