Four candidates have been officially declared to run in the Groom by-election
With all four candidates for the Groom by-election officially declared today, the race for the traditionally LNP-held seat is on.
Toowoomba
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THE race for the seat of Groom is officially on.
The Australian Electoral Commission yesterday declared four candidates had nominated to contest the Groom by-election, which will take place on Saturday, November 28.
The by-election was required after former Groom MP Dr John McVeigh suddenly resigned from his position, citing the need to care for his wife Anita, who has been suffering a major illness.
The traditional candidate ballot draw saw Sustainable Australia Party candidate Sandra Jephcott take out the number one ballot position.
Liberal Democrat candidate Craig Farquharson is second on the ballot, Liberal National Party candidate Garth Hamilton is third and Australian Labor Party candidate Chris Meibusch is fourth.
Announcing his campaign yesterday, Mr Meibusch said he was standing for the ALP because he was “sick and tired of seeing us ignored in this electorate and the Federal LNP Government”.
“It’s about time we had attention given in this electorate to things like infrastructure, to things like aged care, and to various other issues where we have just been missing out in this electorate,” he said.
“And so this by-election gives us a marvellous opportunity to send a message to the LNP government in Canberra that this has got to stop.
“We’ve got to get our fair share.”
Mr Meibusch earlier this year ran for Toowoomba Region mayor against incumbent Paul Antonio, securing 19.22% of the vote to Cr Antonio’s 72.74%.
He has previously run as a Labor candidate in Groom in 2007 and 2010.
In 2007 he secured a 10.59% swing against then MP Ian Macfarlane, who wound up with 58.22% of the vote on a two-party preferred basis, but in 2010 there was a 10.31% swing back to Mr Macfarlane.
Mr Meibusch yesterday said he was hoping for a repeat of his 2007 performance.
“Well in 2007... Ian Macfarlane was here, and he was comfortable. It was a safe liberal seat,” he said.
“And we made Groom marginal – that’s what I want to do... is bring that marginal status back to us, so that we can get our fair share of infrastructure, and fair share of funding for aged care.”
According to the Sustainable Australia Party website, Ms Jephcott is a veterinarian and farmer and lives on a 4000 hectare property near the town of Surat, which sits 80km south of Roma.
She was the only candidate of the four not to attend yesterday’s ballot draw.
The party’s website said Toowoomba is “Sandra’s social, business and healthcare centre”.
Both Mr Hamilton and Mr Farquharson had previously announced their intention to contest the by-election.
