Federal election May 2025: Wide Bay candidates revealed

The Wide Bay will be contested by a broad field on May 3, with candidates from the LNP, Labor, Greens, Independent, Family First, Trumpet of Patriots and One Nation. Vote in our poll:

The seven candidates to so far nominate for the seat of Wide Bay in the May 3 election.

Wide Bay voters will join the rest of Australia in heading to the polls on May 3, with seven candidates so far throwing their hats in the ring.

The race for the plumb and safe conservative seat is already off to an explosive start, with Trumpet for Patriots candidate, Gold Coast businessman Gabrial Pennicott’s serious criminal history exposed.

Nominations officially close on Friday, April 11, so more candidates are likely to emerge before then.

The Wide Bay combines the rural and National voting territory of Maryborough, K’gari and Gympie in the Mary River valley, with more Liberal voting districts at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast around Noosa, Tewantin and Cooroy, and inland areas extending west to Murgon.

It covers 14,227 square kilometres and has been held by the conservatives for most of its history; only one Labor member has ever won it.

The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election.

Notable representatives have included three time Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, who was the seat’s first member.

Warren Truss, former leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, held the seat from 1990 to 2016, and former police officer Llew O’Brien has held it for the LNP since then.

Here are the candidates asking for your vote on May 3, in no particular order:

Independent Casey Iddon

Casey Iddon will run as an Independent in the Wide Bay electorate at the 2025 federal election.

A new candidate for Wide Bay has thrown his hat into the ring, asking for more transparency on federal funding and why the region has missed out on so much in recent times.

Casey Iddon of Maryborough will run as an Independent on May 3, arguing the Division has become too much of a safe seat after 50 years of Liberal National dominance.

“The system is not serving us,” he said.

“We’re not getting anything in Wide Bay because we aren’t a marginal seat.

“I’m trying to be apolitical while also trying to fight for needs-based funding and better transparency in terms of how it’s given out.”

Describing himself as a “quiet and introverted person”, the 38-year-old, who has lived in Maryborough since 2021 with his wife and children, decided to run for public office after experiences with Wide Bay health services, most notably Hervey Bay Hospital, where his wife had a distressing experience.

“My wife had to go into emergency surgery last year, but they didn’t have the capability to do it in Maryborough so they sent us to Hervey Bay,” he said.

“She just had a really bad experience up there.

“I think (Hervey Bay Hospital) is overwhelmed because it gets patients from everywhere.

“That just sent me on a journey to ask ‘how come health care is so bad here?’”

He has a variety of experience in multiple areas of employment, including being a research analyst, a painter, a university tutor, and has run a food truck with his family.

He also reflects on his own childhood, growing up in working class areas such as Portland in Victoria and Mackay, and understands the struggle of living in smaller towns that can be neglected on a larger scale.

LNP incumbent Llew O’Brien

Incumbent MP and LNP candidate for Wide Bay 2025 Llew O’Brien. Picture: Christine Schindler

Incumbent LNP MP Llew O’Brien won his last election easily, with the LNP winning in 49 of the Wide Bay’s 54 polling booths.

He was the National Party preselection for Wide Bay in 2016, with the retirement of Warren Truss, and has represented the Division ever since.

The former police officer said on Thursday the May 3 election was “extremely important” as Australia was at a crossroads.

“Ever since I was elected in 2016, I’ve worked to build a better Wide Bay,” he said.

“That has involved working with the community to identify local solutions and seeking assistance from government to achieve the right outcomes.

“I’ve worked with many community, sporting, veterans and service groups across Wide Bay to help them get the support they need, and worked with the community and my Coalition colleagues in Canberra to secure funding for the Gympie bypass and the Tiaro bypass.

“But over the last three years the challenges that both Wide Bay and our nation face have been made so much harder by the Albanese Labor government.

“When you look back three years, before Labor was elected, you can see that real progress was being made across Wide Bay. But this Albanese Labor government has abandoned regional communities like ours.

“I worked to extend mobile phone coverage to 19 new locations throughout Wide Bay. But, in the time since Labor was elected, they’ve not funded any new mobile phone sites. With the 3G shutdown, which occurred under Labor’s watch, mobile phone coverage has seriously deteriorated.

“In Maryborough, we secured $28.5 million to build a new projectile-forging plant, creating a hundred new jobs and boosting Australia’s defence capability, and a $700,000 commitment is helping to upgrade the Maryborough Military and Colonial Museum.

“We invested more than $25 million replacing and upgrading bridges in Fraser Coast, Gympie and Noosa, including the replacement of Coondoo Creek Bridge on Tin Can Bay Road to better connect Cooloola Coast with other communities.

“In Noosa, I worked with organisations like Sunshine Butterflies at Cooroibah so that they can share their magic with more families.

“I helped secure $2.5 million to build a new community house at Peregian Beach and another $2.5 million to build the Sunshine Beach Surf Club. I also worked with Katie Rose Cottage Hospice at Doonan to secure $1.5 million to increase its capacity.

“In Murgon, I worked with my friends at the Murgon Men’s Shed to help them bring the railway museum to life.

“Veterans in Murgon have a dedicated drop-in centre thanks to a $450,000 commitment to help them access advocacy services. A $1.65 million fossil and fine arts museum, 55 Million Years Ago, is showcasing Murgon’s paleontological history.

“In Gympie, a $1.8 million project is underway to create a new place to honour our veterans, and 200 new jobs have been created at Nolan Meats through a $5 million investment to extend their production line.

“I also helped a number of sporting groups to access funding, including the Granville Tigers hockey club, Noosa Dolphins, Noosa Pickleball and Maryborough District Hockey Club.

“Anyone who knows me knows how concerned I am about improving road safety.

“As a former police officer, I’ve seen the tragic aftermath of fatal crashes on the Bruce Highway. I fought, with my colleagues in Canberra, the former Queensland Labor government and the Albanese Labor government to make the highway through Wide Bay as safe as it is from Gympie to Melbourne.

“In 2018 a huge community effort resulted in an $800 million commitment by the former coalition government for the Gympie bypass, transforming one of the deadliest sections of the Bruce Highway into one of the safest.

“I worked with the community to secure $269 million from the former federal government for the four-lane Tiaro bypass, but state and federal Labor governments have put lives at risk by going slow on this vital project.

“The former Queensland Labor government said the detailed design would be completed by the end of 2023, that tenders would be called in 2024 and that construction would start in February this year. But none of that was true. The detailed design has only just been completed, the tender hasn’t been called, and construction has not started.

“The Albanese Labor government has failed to deliver the new major projects on our stretch of the Bruce Highway, much of which, between Gympie and Maryborough, is rated less than three stars out of five for safety. It’s been revealed that the bulk of the recently announced $7.2 billion safety upgrade funding won’t be available for many years to come.

“State and federal Labor have proven that they can’t be trusted with our safety on the Bruce Highway, but I won’t give up fighting for the safety of my locals. We need to get Australia back on track, and that starts with electing a government that understands and delivers for our region, not ignores it, as the Albanese Labor government has done.

“I’m looking to the future to continue my work with the community to deliver for Wide Bay, including fighting to extend mobile coverage across Wide Bay.

“I’m working with local community and sporting groups to help them get the support they need and I’m working with the Gympie and Maryborough district hockey associations and Maryborough Pickleball to upgrade their clubs.

I’m also working with the Pomona Cooran Cutters Rugby Union Club, Noosa Tigers, and Maryborough Bears AFL Club to improve female amenities, and with the Gympie Pistol Club to redevelop their clubhouse, and the Cooroy Badminton Club to upgrade their facility.

“With the rising cost of living having such an impact on the family budget, I’m working with the Hub Food and Op Shop Outlet at Noosa to improve access and make it easier for vulnerable people to receive support and assistance.

“Community safety is also a priority and I’m working with the Cooroy Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of Maryborough City to update and upgrade local CCTV networks to make our streets safer.

 “At this election, we must get Australia back on track, and with your support, I’ll work with Peter Dutton and the LNP team to deliver the right policies and the right priorities to deliver for Wide Bay and make Australia prosperous, secure and united again.”

ALP Elliott Chalmers

ALP candidate for Wide Bay 2025 Elliott Chalmers.

A profile on the Queensland Labor Party website says Mr Chalmers spent most of his career working for small businesses “and understands the importance of having a government that helps create jobs and invests in the services that support Australians in getting ahead”.

“Like many Australians, he is feeling the pressure of rising costs for essentials like rent and groceries,” it says.

“That’s why he is standing as part of the Albanese Labor team.

“Labor’s top priority has been delivering cost-of-living relief, including bigger tax cuts for every taxpayer, 20 per cent off student debt, energy bill relief, cheaper childcare, strengthening Medicare, and reducing the cost of medicines.

“By working together, Labor has brought inflation down, helped wages grow, and seen interest rates start to fall.

“Elliott will fight for greater investment in local health services, more skills and training to support local jobs, and increased housing development so locals can access affordable and reliable housing.”

A request for more information to Mr Chalmers’ election page did not receive a response by time of publication.

Greens Emma Buhse

Greens’ candidate Emma Buhse.

Former Gympie state Greens’ candidate Emma Buhse is contesting the federal election for the Greens.

The 2025 nominee for Gympie Citizen of the Year and Resilience Award claimed 8 per cent of the primary vote at the October 2024 state election, the party’s best result in the seat since 2015.

In a statement, Ms Buhse said she was running for Wide Bay on the longstanding cost-of-living, housing, and local health issues.

“Many people in our community are struggling to keep their heads above water as rent and grocery prices continue to go up, the number of people without a home is growing, while our local support services are underfunded and understaffed,” she said.

“The major parties cannot fix the problems we face because they are too busy pandering to big corporations, one in three of whom pay no tax.

“As a person living with a disability, I want to use my lived experience to fight for better services for the vulnerable in our community and ensure that everyone has access to a decent home, food on the table, and world class health and education.”

Her profile on the Greens’ website says:

“I love living in Gympie and I love this beautiful part of the world. After arriving from the Sunshine Coast 20 years ago, I fell in love with the shift in gears that our more laid back and friendly community provides.

“I’m a person with a disability and an ambulatory wheelchair user. Over the last five years, I’ve started to traverse around the area in my power wheelchair (sometimes with my beautiful dog, Nutmeg, who you may have met!) and connect with people.

“I have a massive love for volunteering, assisting at events and supporting local community groups to grow while also encouraging accessibility and inclusion. I think it’s important to turn my own lived experience in disability, health services and homelessness into action and advocacy to help others experiencing those same issues.

“I want to see everyone in our community gain the services and support they genuinely need to stay and grow in the area for many generations to come. Unfortunately, the most vulnerable people in our community are struggling to keep their heads above water with the rising cost of living and the horrific ongoing housing crisis. People with disabilities, elderly people, young people, single parents and their children make up a large cohort of those finding it tough. Human services are over capacity with requests for help and understaffed or underfunded to do so.

“Meanwhile, the major parties continue to pander to their corporate donors instead of looking after the needs of everyday people like you and me.

“But it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Ms Buhse will be meeting the community at several locations in early April.
These include at Maryborough on Saturday, April 5, at 11am April at the Timber & Steel Cafe, Carriers Arms Hotel, 40 Alice Street Maryborough, at Gympie on Sunday, April 6 at 2pm at Nelson Reserve in the city centre, and at Noosa on Sunday, April 13, at 9.30am at the Noosa Leisure Centre Meeting Room, 9 Wallace Drive Noosaville.

One Nation Chad Burgess

One Nation candidate for Wide Bay 2025 Chad Burgess.

According to the Linkedin profile of One Nation Wide Bay candidate Chad Burgess, he is an administration officer who lives in Torbanlea, on the Fraser Coast.

His profile states he used to work as a retail sales assistant in Hervey Bay, a polling assistant with the Australian Electoral Commission, and has degrees in business, marketing and leadership.

His profile on the One Nation website says he is “a proud Australian and passionate advocate for his country”.

“With a vision for a stronger, freer Australia, Chad is determined to ensure his community has a representative who truly understands the challenges and opportunities facing the nation today,” it says.

“Chad has spent countless hours reflecting on the issues that have eroded Australia’s foundations under the leadership of the major parties.
“He believes that short-term decisions have undermined key sectors like mining, manufacturing, agriculture, and technology, while also chipping away at Australia’s liberty and national identity.

“Australia has become a gilded cage where we’ve traded our advantages and freedoms for convenience,” the profile information states.

“We are forgetting who we are, but I am inspired to fight for the memory of what Australia was, and what it can be.”

It says Mr Burgess is committed to addressing the “pressing issues facing Wide Bay, including cost-of-living pressures, better opportunities for small businesses, and safeguarding the region’s unique natural resources”.

“ His vision is to rebuild Australia’s industries, restore manufacturing, and ensure the people of Wide Bay thrive in a country that values its heritage and freedoms.”

Mr Burgess will be at the Maryborough Services and Citizen’s Memorial Club at 6pm on Saturday, April 5, 2025.

Family First Kirsti Kenningale

Family First candidate for Wide Bay at the 2025 federal election Kirsti Kenningale.

Family First candidate Kirsti Kenningale is a wife, busy mum of four, accountant and business owner who is involved in her children’s school and church activities and a supporter of her local community.

“I moved to Gympie two years ago from the Illawarra, NSW, to spend more time with family in the area and love the Gympie community and how they support one another, especially during difficult times.

“I am very passionate about protecting our children, nurturing families, and supporting their well-being from the youngest member to the eldest.

“I have such a heart for the community and am honoured to represent Family First who will not compromise, especially when it comes to matters concerning Family, Faith, Life and Freedom.”

The Family First website states:

“To ensure your family’s values are on the ballot at the upcoming federal election, Kirsti has stepped up to give voters in the electorate of Wide Bay the choice to vote for family, faith, life and freedom.

“Sadly the major parties have abandoned your values so Family First seeks to provide you with the opportunity to vote for what matters with a clear conscience. Family First will not compromise.

“Kirsti believes strong families, freedom for faith, and protecting the most vulnerable are critical for the future of our community and our nation.”

Trumpet of Patriots Gabrial Pennicott

Gabrial Neil Pennicott has a storied past.

Gold Coast businessman Gabrial Pennicott will run for the Trumpet of Patriots party on May 3, and has responded to explosive revelations of his criminal past.

Mr Pennicott is a convicted fraudster and former bankrupt who had to be extradited back to Australia to face his crimes.

 FULL STORY HERE

A statement from Mr Pennicott on the launch of his campaign says this:

“A father, grandfather, and business owner—not a career politician—Mr Pennicott brings lived experience and bold vision to a region he says has been “forgotten by both major parties for far too long”.

“What’s happening here in Wide Bay is happening right across the nation—rising costs, broken healthcare, crushed small businesses, housing stress, and political neglect,” he said in the statement.

“We’re not just facing a cost-of-living crisis—we’re facing a crisis of leadership, of identity, and of national direction.

“Mr Pennicott’s campaign focuses on practical, common-sense reforms, including: Free education including university and TAFE, forgiveness of HECS debt, affordable housing policies that put ownership back in the hands of Australians, a pause on mass immigration to stabilise housing, healthcare, and education, a 15 per cent resource licence fee to pay down national debt, publicly broadcast debates and full transparency in government spending.

“The Trumpet of Patriots party, led by Suellen Wrightson and supported by party chairman Clive Palmer, is contesting seats in every electorate across Australia and aims to disrupt the two-party duopoly with policies focused on economic fairness, national sovereignty, and strong leadership.”

Voters can have their questions answered at a town hall meeting being held by Mr Pennicott in Gympie on Thursday, April 10, at at 7pm, in the Madill Room at the Gympie Pavilion.

Originally published as Federal election May 2025: Wide Bay candidates revealed