Sunshine Coast candidates give insight into campaigns

An independent’s last-minute scramble for endorsement, Climate-200 backed candidates ramp up community events, and incumbent coalition MPs pump cash into sporting clubs. Here’s what your federal candidates have been up to.

Independent Fairfax candidate Paul McKeown.

An independent candidate on the Sunshine Coast has been forced into a last-minute dash to secure enough signatures for endorsement to run in the 2025 federal election.

Fairfax independent Paul McKeown secured the signatures, but described it as a “difficult step that the party candidates don’t need to take”.

The first-time candidate put the call out on social media last week for locals to come meet him and sign the form.

Mr McKeown said he would be attending meet the candidates functions in Nambour and Mapleton later this month.

Independent candidate for Fisher Keryn Jones.

Meanwhile, the Climate-200-backed independents, Keryn Jones in Fisher and Francine Wiig in Fairfax, have both made a point of holding multiple community events across their electorates.

Ms Wiig holds weekly meet-the-candidate sessions and has met with local organisations including Sunshine Coast Pride Festival, Coolum Art Project and multiple chambers of commerce.

Within one week, Ms Jones said she held 51 events across Fisher.

Fisher MP Andrew Wallace.

Incumbent LNP MPs Ted O’Brien and Andrew Wallace have both made appearances and promises at local sporting clubs.

Mr Wallace promised the Beerwah and District Memorial Golf Club that, under a re-elected LNP government, the club would receive $150,000 to upgrade its kitchen facilities.

The Fisher MP also announced a $1.095m upgrade to the historic Norris House Clubhouse in Maleny.

In Fairfax, Mr O’Brien has touted $727,000 to build new female change rooms at the Suncoast Clippers Stadium and more than $570,000 to the Buderim Wanderers Football Club.

Greens candidate for Fairfax, Sue Etheridge.

The Greens candidates in both Fairfax and Fisher, Sue Etheridge and Renay Wells, are running campaigns built on door-knocking and letterboxing.

Ms Etheridge said her team had letterboxed more than 5000 homes in Fairfax, with Ms Wells personally door knocking more than 500 homes in the Fisher electorate.

Ms Wells said she had so far met with homeless support services and residents concerned with the Bribie break through and Pumicestone Passage.

Labor’s candidate for Fisher, Morrison Lakey, said he’d door knocked 800 houses in the area and had so far received positive responses for the urgent care clinic promised by the Labor government for Caloundra.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast candidates give insight into campaigns