Crisafulli targets his former seat of Mundingburra’s MP Les Walker

David Crisafulli is gunning for the LNP to reclaim his old seat of Mundingburra, accusing the current Labor MP of ‘gaslighting’ locals by downplaying crime issues. HAVE YOUR SAY IN OUR POLL.

Member for Mudingburra, Les Walker, at the announcement of state and federal funding for Jet Zero's Sustainable Aviation Fuel project in Townsville. Picture: Shae Beplate.

LNP leader David Crisafulli has his targets set on taking back his old seat of Mundingburra, having accused its MP Les Walker of “gaslighting” by downplaying the crime issue.

But Mr Walker angrily fought back against Mr Crisafulli’s claim by labelling him “a very poor performer”, believing the opposition leader delivered nothing for his constituents in the Newman-led LNP government in 2012-15.

And he warned the LNP leader not to use anger and hatred to mask his policy platform.

“Don’t point at us, he needs to sell himself,” Mr Walker said, as he emphasised the government’s delivery of health services for the region.

“The problem is, he’s got nothing to sell.”

Townsville’s three Labor MPs including Mr Walker face a wipe-out in the October 26 state election according to the latest newspoll figures, as they are among the 14 seats most likely to fall to the opposition.

LNP leader David Crisafulli addressed concerns in Townsville such as the performance of the local government, where he studied as a journalist, and served as a Townsville City councillor and deputy mayor.

LNP candidate Janelle Poole could be the first in her party to hold the seat of Mundingburra since Mr Crisafulli was defeated by Coralee O’Rourke, if she was able to defeat Mr Walker and KAP rival Michael Pugh.

Betting agency Ladbrokes has placed 12:1 odds on Labor winning the election, while it predicts LNP to lead the next government at 1:03.

KAP has odds of 103:1, the same rate as Greens and One Nation, but had only 10 candidates running across 93 seats which would make it near impossible to lead the next government.

But Mr Crisafulli, who is now Member for Broadwater, downplays his own chances of being the next Premier, and still considers himself the “underdog” considering the LNP would have to gain more than 12 seats to take power.

“We start so far back, we have to win over a dozen seats plus hold the ones we’ve got which is a big deal,” he said.

“And at the risk of getting too provocative there’s every likelihood that you could have people who choose to vote for local members who have completely debranded, they’re not using red, they’re not using the Labor logo.

LNP Mundingburra candidate Janelle Poole. Picture: Evan Morgan

“I drove past Aaron Harper’s sign the other day, you would think he’s running for the local CWA, the local cricket club, there’s no Labor branding.

“There’s a real risk here of people voting for their local MP, or they might try to vote for someone as a protest vote.

“And the biggest thing is of the last 12 general elections, we’ve only won one … so you can excuse me for not getting ahead of myself.”

Mr Walker responded to accusations of low-key Labor branding as “spin” from a former Townsville journalist, as he spoke to local media.

“He’s a trained media personnel, sorry to have a go at you guys, but he’s got the spit and polish out and he’s spinning it like there’s no tomorrow.”

While Mr Walker’s spray did not refer his direct LNP rival Janelle Poole, he said the LNP leader still had the obligation to detail his policies in the last weeks of the campaign, and to reassure the region’s public servants that their jobs were secure.

“Do not be a small target politician and play the smoke and mirrors game, step up and give us some detail,” Mr Walker said in a message to Mr Crisafulli.

Townsville mum Melissa Young-Florence broke down in tears while talking about how she was chased and rammed by youths in a stolen car on December 7. Picture: Natasha Emeck

“He doesn’t understand performance is, because when he was here and underperforming, and still is, when it comes to detail.

“He’s letting this seat down by not giving us a policy, especially in health.”

Late last week, Mr Crisafulli posted an Instagram video with a sound bite of Mr Walker saying, “Crime is there, but it doesn’t pop up like you think.”

Mr Crisafulli said the Mundingburra MP was downplaying a youth crime crisis, and referred to Mundingburra mother Melissa Young-Florence, who made headlines last December after being attacked by car thieves while doing Christmas shopping.

Mr Crisafulli said youth crime had a huge impact on Mundingburra constituents such as Ms Young-Florence, as well as the punters in his old local pub, the Riverview Tavern.

They were also mostly concerned about health, cost of living, and housing.

Originally published as Crisafulli targets his former seat of Mundingburra’s MP Les Walker