Qld state election 2024: Candidates for Cairns, Barron River, Mulgrave, Cook

There will be no shortage of choice for Far North voters with 36 candidates campaigning across six seats in a bid to win a seat at parliament. See the full list of names and vote in the poll.

Far Northerners will begin having their say on their future government and local parliamentarian from Monday, October 14 when early voting opens for the October 26, Queensland state election.

The diverse region spanning from the tip of Australia and the islands beyond, down to the costal oasis of Cardwell and stretching west to the food bowls of Atherton and Mareeba is represented by six seats, with 36 candidates vying for a seat at Parliament House for this next term.

The Electoral Commission of Queensland closed its candidate nominations on Tuesday, October 8, and below is the list of each individual running for election.

Far North state electorate boundaries. Source: Electoral Commission Queensland.

CAIRNS

One Nation candidate for Cairns Geena Court. Picture: Brendan Radke

Geena Court (One Nation)

The award-winning businesswoman moved to Cairns at age 17, working in real estate before establishing her own property business.

As part of her campaign, Ms Court is calling for a military-style diversion program for troubled youths to be establishedon the Tablelands in a bid to solve the youth crime crisis.

Last month, crime forums hosted by her and other One Nation candidates in the Far North were criticised for failing to featureany of the party’s branding on promotional materials with some attendees claiming they were misled.

Ms Court ran for the seat of Leichhardt in the 2022 federal election.

Greens candidate for Cairns Josh Holt. Picture: Brendan Radke

Josh Holt (Greens)

An arts administrator and community volunteer, Mr Holt is a first-time candidate calling for a two-year rent freeze to address the cost-of-living and housing challenges in the Far North.

The Edge Hill resident supports developing high-density complexes in the Cairns CBD and establishing a public property developerto buy land and increase the availability of affordable housing.

Additionally, Mr Holt has campaigned for capping the prices of 30 essential items at Coles and Woolworths and introducingfree sports for school kids.

Mr Holt’s background also includes working in the education and hospitality sectors.

Michael Healy, current Member for Cairns and Queensland Tourism and Sport Minister.

Michael Healy (Labor)

First elected in 2017, the former sales director at Quicksilver Group has served two terms for the ALP in the historicallysafe Labor seat of Cairns.

Mr Healy has almost 25 years’ experience working in the tourism sector, including as a director of Tourism Tropical NorthQueensland and Tourism Events Queensland.

Prior to entering politics, he spent a decade serving as board member and later chair of Access Community Housing, the largest non-profit community housing initiative in the Far North.

Earlier this month, Mr Healy announced plans to build a $25m high performance training facility in Cairns, if re-elected, and has made several other infrastructure announcements during his campaign.

As part of a cabinet reshuffle in December, he became Tourism and Sport Minister.

LNP candidate for Cairns Yolonde Entsch. Picture: Brendan Radke

Yolonde Entsch (LNP)

Since being named as the Coalition’s candidate for Cairns last year, Ms Entsch has run a campaign that has almost exclusively focused on crime.

The 2020 Cairns Citizen of the Year has backed the LNP’s policies for young offenders, including a $50m Regional Reset programfor at-risk youths to be rolled out across the state.

Ms Entsch has also supported proposed changes that would allow a child’s criminal record to be admissible during sentencingas an adult.

Earlier this month, she endorsed investing $6m to complete the construction of a new state-of-the-art facility at Stan Williams Park in Manunda, worth $18m, if elected.

Ms Entsch is the former chief executive for Wheels of Wellness Cairns which provides healthcare and wellbeing support forthe homeless.

Independent candidate for Cairns Shane Cuthbert. Picture: Brendan Radke

Shane Cuthbert (Independent)

Mr Cuthbert’s criminal history includes convictions for public nuisance, wilful damage and drink driving.

If elected, he has claimed he will become Australia’s first elected representative to have previously served time in jail.

Earlier this year, the law graduate ran a failed local government campaign to become Cairns’ Division 4 councillor.

During that time, he made headlines after a rival candidate referred a “threatening” email sent by Mr Cuthbert to the police but no further action was taken.

Mr Cuthbert is campaigning on a platform of “making Cairns safe again” with a focus on addressing youth crime.

BARRON RIVER

– Bree James – Liberal National Party

– Craig Crawford – Australian Labor Party

– Ben Campbell – Katter’s Australian Party

– Peter Eicens – One Nation

– Denise Crew – The Greens

MULGRAVE

– Nicholas Daniels – Legalise Cannabis Queensland Party

– Steven Lesina – Katter’s Australian Party

– David Raymond – Independent

– Peter Everett – The Greens

– Richie Bates – Australian Labor Party

– Terry James – Liberal National Party

– Michael McInnes – One Nation

– Leslie Searle – Family First

– Ian Floyd – Independent

– Yodie Batzke – Independent

COOK

– Duane Amos – Katter’s Australian Party

– David Kempton – Liberal National Party

– Cynthia Lui – Australian Labor Party

– Peter Campion – One Nation

– Troy Miller – The Greens

HILL

– Jennifer Cox – The Greens

– Michael Hodgkins – Australian Labor Party

– Matt Lachlan – Independent

– Brenda Turner – One Nation

– Cameron McCollum – Liberal National Party

– Shane Knuth – Katter’s Australian Party

HINCHINBROOK

– Ina Pryor – Australian Labor Party

– Annette Swaine – Liberal National Party

– Ric Daubert – One Nation

– Nick Dametto – Katter’s Australian Party

– Jon Kowski – The Greens

– Kevin Wheatley – Legalise Cannabis Queensland Party

The Far North which features three of the top 15 most marginal seats for the current government has been identified as a potential “king-making” region with the latest polls tipping a significant swing against the incumbent government.

Those seats include Cairns, Barron River and Cook, all held by Labor, while neighbouring electorate Mulgrave, once a red stronghold has been vacated by party stalwart Curtis Pitt, opening the southern suburbs of Cairns to one of the hottest races in the state featuring a 10-card stack of candidates.

Mulgrave will present the most number of candidates running in any Queensland electorate, followed by the Premier’s seat of Murrumba, which features nine runners.

As it stood, the ALP held 51 seats, the LNP with 35, KAP has four, Greens with two and one independent.

This article will be updated in the lead-up to the election with candidate profiles and details of key issues in the region.

Originally published as Qld state election 2024: Candidates for Cairns, Barron River, Mulgrave, Cook