Groom votes: Key moments, issues at Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce election forum

The LNP’s Garth Hamilton and his highly-back independent opponent had their first policy bout in the Toowoomba Chamber’s candidate forum. Here are six key takeaways and all opening speeches:

Tax reforms, energy and housing were the major issues debated by candidates at the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce’s election forum on Tuesday night.

During an event seemingly watched more by an audience of partisan supporters than undecided voters, incumbent Garth Hamilton was grilled on his proposals for improving housing in Toowoomba, as well as persistent support for nuclear power.

The evening at The Oaks Hotel was also the first real chance for Mr Hamilton to face off against what is considered his main rival in independent Suzie Holt, who lashed the major parties for ignoring Groom.

With the exception of Labor candidate Richard Edwards, who displayed a remarkable knowledge of his party’s policy platform throughout the night, all contenders read their opening statements off a sheet — including Mr Hamilton.

Candidates for the Greens Alyce Nelligan and Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots Jamie Marr were not present.

Here is what we learned:

1. Housing solutions contested

Candidates clashed heavily on the topic of solving Toowoomba’s housing crisis, which has been reflected in the national campaign.

LNP incumbent Garth Hamilton, whose party announced a plan to allow first-home builders to use interest on their mortgage as a tax deduction, once again reiterated his belief in cutting Australia’s immigration rates to lessen demand.

The Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce's Meet the Candidates forum for Groom at The Oaks Hotel. Independent Suzie Holt and LNP's Garth Hamilton.

“Demand is going to constantly increase, and if demand increases and supply doesn’t increase, prices go up,” he said.

“Unless we have a genuine conversation on immigration that’s extensive and understands what the needs of the nation are, I think we will always see demand.”

This was backed by One Nation’s Rebecca Konz, who said the party would want zero immigration “until every Australian has a house”.

But Labor’s candidate Richard Edwards rubbished this notion, arguing a growing region like Toowoomba needed more skilled workers and instead argued for supporting local councils with more trunk infrastructure.

“If we were to cut immigration off altogether, regions like ours would miss out because we currently have a job surplus, we need more skilled workers and we need those people coming over additionally,” he said.

“One of the things that I really want to push for is increasing our federal support (for local government) from 0.5% to 1% of the total tax intake, which is going to alleviate that trunk infrastructure burdens.”

Independent Kirstie Smolenski argued her plan of developing lend-lease developments where people owned the building but not the land (similar to retirement village arrangements) would drive down the cost and speed up the supply.

“So actually they’re easier to build, you can build them in a sustainable way, and people are able to buy their home for about half the price that it would normally cost them,” she said.

2. Conservatives lash government spending, don’t articulate cuts

The Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce's Meet the Candidates forum for Groom at The Oaks Hotel. One Nation's Rebecca Konz.

The LNP, One Nation and Family First candidates all used questions on government debt and Australia’s exposure to international turbulence to discuss slashing public spending, with some arguing for extreme measures.

“One Nation has identified $90 billion worth of waste – government waste, your money being thrown away into committees and bureaucracies and climate departments and subsidies,” candidate Rebecca Konz argued.

Incumbent MP Garth Hamilton said the federal government’s current spending levels as a percentage of GDP, as well as the project 10 years of deficits, left the nation exposed during a period of global instability.

“What happens if there’s another major international incident that draws down on our national cheque account? We really don’t have that much room to move,” he said.

However, apart from reductions in subsidies towards renewable energy, few candidates actually pointed to what aspects of the government should be cut.

3. Independents grilled on effectiveness in minority government

The Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce's Meet the Candidates forum for Groom at The Oaks Hotel. Independents Suzie Holt and Kirstie Smolenski.

With non-party MPs now a mainstay in federal politics after the 2022 election, both independent candidates for Groom Suzie Holt and Kirstie Smolenski have made the case for why they can be the balance of power in a potential hung parliament.

Ms Holt, who has amassed a $500,000 war chest that includes funding from Climate 200, said her past four years travelling to Canberra and meeting with ministers and the opposition had demonstrated her readiness for the task at hand.

“You’ve got to get down there and do your work and what is right and what is right for your region and what is right for the nation,” she said.

“We’re not interested in playing party politics, we’re interested in getting the job done and working with the government of the day to make sure that that happens.

“So for the past four years, I’ve been down there building those relationships on the left, on the right, and with the minor parties.”

For her part, Ms Smolenski said she was prepared to have “deep conversations” with both sides of politics if elected.

4. Hamilton tries to articulate nuclear case

Garth Hamilton finally reaffirmed the Coalition’s case for nuclear, which would include a reactor at Tarong outside the Toowoomba region, and how it could solve the nation’s energy woes.

After being quiet on the issue for several months, Mr Hamilton jumped at the chance when a particularly enthusiastic audience member asked him to “tell the truth” about nuclear.

“The truth about nuclear power is it’s used around the world extensively and it’s bizarre when we hear, it’s going to be too expensive here,” he said.

“Everywhere else in the world it can be done, it can be done in time, it can be done cheaply and it provides reliable, cheap power.”

Mr Hamilton gestured at a mix of energy sources to power Australia.

5. Holt swipes Hamilton over lack of co-operation, backs Cressbrook funding deal

Independent Suzie Holt fired the first broadsides at incumbent Garth Hamilton of the campaign throughout the night, arguing relationships between the federal government and the Toowoomba Regional Council had broken down during his time as MP.

“It’s time the federal government stepped up and supported local councils, particularly the regions, because we do miss out in the region,” she said.

“What we are hearing on the ground is that our region is tired of the divisiveness.

“We’ve witnessed it time and time again in our region, where the federal government and local council do not get on.”

Ms Holt also called on the federal government to sign an 80-20 funding deal with the council over the $270m Cressbrook Dam safety upgrade, in the same way it did for the upgrades to the Bruce Highway.

6. Consensus on support for small business reforms

Labor's Groom candidate Richard Edwards.

All candidates supported making tax-free thresholds and instant asset write-offs for small businesses permanent, which was well-received by audience members.

Independent Suzie Holt and LNP’s Garth Hamilton took it a step further, advocating for a permanent increase to the threshold.

Every candidate’s opening remarks

Richard Edwards (ALP)

2025 Labor Candidate for Groom, Richard Edwards. Picture supplied/ALP

It’s lovely to be here with the people who keep our region going – the business owners and the families that support them. Because I recognise that for the vast majority of you, business isn’t about balancing the budget at the end of the day, it’s about putting food on the table for families.

It’s about building something that you can pass on, it’s about creating opportunities for your children here in Groom, and for me, that’s what a fair go for our region means. It means respect for the real drivers of our local economy and real support to make sure that they succeed, be that better infrastructure, easier access to skilled workers, less red tape and more affordable housing so we can keep our workers local. In my time as a family mental health practitioner, I would like his families all across this region, from Pittsworth to Oakey to Highfields and here in Toowoomba, and I see every single day the connection between the health of the family and the stability of the job that supports them.

I see the power of local businesses supporting and uplifting our community and I see the cost when that support is no longer there. If we want to see new opportunities for every year, we need to elect a new voice – someone who knows this region, who understands its people. And if it’s a re-elected Labor government, I’m the only candidate who will be in that room at the decision making table, fighting for what we need every single day.

My family has been in this region for over 165 years, so for me, it’s not a seat that I’m contesting – for me, it’s home. It’s where I spend my days at kitchen tables, talking to families doing it tough, where I worked and where I’ve stood by people doing it hard. Let’s stand together, let’s fight for a future where businesses thrive as families grow and where our voice is heard. 

Suzie Holt (Independent)

Suzie Holt will run as an independent for the federal seat of Groom.

I’ve been campaigning for four years, and I appreciate that this is a conservative community, but sometimes that leads to stagnation. So conservatism doesn’t mean an aversion to crisis, to development or opportunity. We all know that the issues we face in this community and this country did not begin three years ago. Housing, energy, climate, immigration, taxation – major parties keep skirting the major issues. The regional vote and our regional voices have been consumed by the city bias of the two major parties. Nobody has had their eye on Groom. The region receives little in the way of federal government grants, there’s been no action on inland rail. The Toowoomba Railway Parkland has seen no movement forward in years and its funding is set to disappear. Our representatives at all levels of government are dominated by one major party, and yet collaboration between them is a pipe dream. We’ve witnessed that this week, when all the major economic parties, including the Chamber, council and TSBE have all got different ideas for the region bar one, which is a really fascinating issue. Groom needs and deserves a representative who can work with all levels of government and make those issues align. They want someone across party lines to get things done.

Tony Windsor spoke at my launch and he said the flaw of the political system is it is based on disagreements. I don’t care what parties people are in – a good idea doesn’t care who has it. I will listen to everyone, I will drive a hard bargain and I’ll work with anyone and everyone to get the job done. 

Alex Todd (Family First)

Alexandra Todd, 2025 Family First candidate for Groom. Picture: Supplied

I’m a local wife, mom, grandma and volunteer. I’m a Christian and I absolutely am convinced that as a nation, we need to be relying on the blessing of Almighty God, and we also need to rely on his wisdom. Our culture overall is in steep decline and this hasn’t happened overnight. It’s deteriorated dramatically in recent years and we need to do something different. Strong families of the fundamental building blocks of local communities and that in turn strengthens towns, cities and regions.

Family First stands for policies that will help build families up and not tear them down. Family First believes that human life begins at conception and should be protected from that moment, until natural death. Australian women deserve support and care in order to carry and raise their children. Children are our future and they must be protected. Gender ideologies are being forced on our children and causing great harm.

Family First supports restoring the true definitions of male and female, restoring the meaning of woman in the Sex Discrimination Act and keeping biological males out of women’s sport and spaces. Family First stands with parents in choosing the education for their children. Independent schools are under attack by progressive activists, resulting in parents having to fight to educate their children according to the faith and values that they believed the school would hold, and for a country to remain prosperous we require cheap, reliable, clean and secure energy and in Australia we have that in abundance.

We are so energy rich, and yet successive government policies prevent us from using those resources ourselves. The virtue signalling obsession with Net Zero and renewables will bankrupt our country while simultaneously destroying our security and the environment. So Family First is running senate and lower house candidates in this election to provide and promote family, faith, life and freedom.

Kirstie Smolenski (Independent)

Independent candidate for Groom 2025, Kirstie Smolenski. Picture: Supplied

I’ve done a lot – I’ve been registered as small business owner, construction company manager, volunteer co-ordinator at St Vincent’s Hospital, recent law graduate and now back to where I started re-registering as a nurse. If I had to describe my core values to you, what drives me, it would be this – small business is in my blood. I grew up in a two small business family, my mother in a haberdashery shop, my father the local IGA. I was allowed to start work when I could consistently write 9s around, and I was allowed to write them on tins of dog food to stack on the shelves. Small business is in my blood.

My father made sure that local produce was front and centre of the store, he sponsored the local football and netball teams, he was the champion of the town. My mother worked incredibly long hours as a sacrifice for the town and for her family. 25 years ago, my husband and I started our own small business.

We built and sold houses and I learned how to run the business, so my husband could swing a hammer and do all the amazing things that builders do to create homes out of big piles of sticks. From nursing in Oakey to building in Toowoomba, I understand the needs and solutions for our community.

Small businesses, what I know, which is why I have modelled my campaign on one, backed by locals and supporting locals. With respect, I’m the only candidate who is refusing donations from corporations with local personal contributions capped.

I’m running the other campaign, which is supported 100% by the local community because lower than that is a failing grade. I’m here to change the way we do politics. Politics, not bought by big money, but by people who wake up every day and work hard to make this region a better place.

Rebecca Konz (One Nation)

Pauline Hanson's One Nation candidate for Groom Rebecca Konz.

I’ll do what Kirstie did and tell you a bit about myself. I’ve done a lot of different things as well. I’m a mum, a grandma, I’ve been the wife of a defence service member, travelling around Australia, not just Queensland. I worked for the Department of Communities as a child safety officer for almost 10 years, and worked in support agencies for children and families trying to help families stay together and prevent the children from entering into foster care.

And I worked in residential foster care as well. I’m also self-funding my campaign, I have no donors from any other sources other than myself, my family, and a few local community members who support One Nation in their bid to make a change at this election.

One Nation stands for free speech, and over the last few years we’ve watched that being whittled away, little by little bit, bill by bill, just taking away a tiny bit of free speech. Each time they put another bill through.

The MAD bill has been shelved, but I expect that it’ll come back out again, so we have to be vigilant. And you may have heard that before – the price of freedom is eternal vigilance and if we don’t stay vigilant and keep the politicians on track in Canberra and keep the bastards honest, as the Democrats used to say, then we’re going to find that we don’t have the freedoms that we enjoy as Australians.

We won’t have the freedoms that our grandfathers, fathers and great-grandfathers fought for in two world wars, in Vietnam and in Afghanistan. So I’m standing for freedom for Australians and I, I want to make a difference to the community by keeping us free.

Garth Hamilton (LNP)

Groom MP LNP candidate Garth Hamilton. Picture: Kevin Farmer

I’ve been really very proud to stand with the chamber on many issues advocating for us both here and in Canberra. When East Toowoomba rallied against that stadium upgrade – Joe you were there – I held a meeting. We filled the bowls club and our voices were eventually heard; we won out and we got together. When Highfields, Meringandan and Westbrook wanted to know more about that north-south connector, we got together with my state colleagues, we filled Highfields. We had a line-up out the front door, people coming through.

Our voice was heard and we won that that as well. I could talk about the Voice when the polls were 70% yes, my community was telling me they were a no and I came out and I stood up and I was the leader for that movement and I’m very proud to have led the local No campaign team. We had the largest turnout in all of Australia – 1400 people – to our event. 76 per cent no, we won the day, thank God.

I led the national debate on issues around breaking up Coles and Woolworths, because of issues I’d heard with how they treated local farmers. I was the first to stand up to Labor’s plan to stack the board of the RBA. I’ve stood opposite my leader in the chamber when our values differed, and I stood up in the media against my party’s positions when I felt that they weren’t in the interests of my region.

On the misinformation bill, new tax, nuclear energy, immigration, record spending that’s a year higher than was in the Covid response, I’ve stood up. Ladies and gentlemen, you may not always agree with me but it’s my job to make sure you know where I stand and I’ll continue to do that and I’ve done that on every one of those issues.

We’ve had a tough couple of years. Inflation has been above the target band for the longest period ever since we set the target band – 11 consecutive quarters. The next worst was five because it was under Rudd. No one’s handled inflation worse than this prime minister but the scary news is of what’s to come.

After three years, our treasurer now tells us we have a recession looming and ten deficits. We’re going to need to stand together in this election. I suggest to you, when you look up with these many fine candidates here, you ask yourself, who will stand up for you, who has stood up for you and who will make sure your voice is heard.