Queensland State election 2024: Both LNP and Labor candidates living outside the electorates where they would become MPs
The battle for Burleigh has become personal with a Labor candidate accusing the LNP’s Hermann Vorster of wanting a “cushy job” after revelations he does not live in the electorate.
Gold Coast
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The battle for Burleigh has become personal with a Labor candidate accusing the LNP’s Hermann Vorster of wanting a “cushy job” after it was revealed he does not live in the state electorate.
Burleigh LNP MP Michael Hart in September last year announced he would retire with the high profile Robina councillor Mr Vorster preselected by the party to take his place.
Mr Hart’s margin in Burleigh is 1.2 per cent, making the seat, other than Gaven held by Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon, as the hottest contest in the lead-up to the October state poll.
Electoral roll searches by the Bulletin show Mr Vorster, at Robina, and the LNP’s Gaven candidate Bianca Stone, at Ormeau, live outside their electorates.
All Labor candidates live in their electorates apart from the Rita Anwari in the northern seat of Theodore. The community advocate is from Ipswich.
Mr Vorster and Ms Stone have refused to address questions about whether they will, if they win, relocate to their electorates.
Labor Burleigh candidate Claire Carlin on her Facebook page in a post said she was had lived in her electorate and “have done for nearly 20 years”.
“This is typical behaviour from the LNP and shows how much they take the Gold Coast for granted,” she said.
“Drop people from out of the community into relatively safe seats, because they want a cushy job they feel entitled to have and then sit back and not actually fight for the community when it matters. Outrageous.
“He can’t even vote for himself, so why should you.”
Ms Carlin, one of the driving forces of the Coast’s premier arts festival BLEACH, has promoted herself as “not a career politician”.
“Our Burleigh community has been taken for granted by the LNP, who are too busy telling locals what to be afraid of rather than working on what a positive vision for the southern Gold Coast could look like,” she said.
In a statement on behalf of Ms Stone and Mrs Vorster, the LNP said: “We have far stronger connections with the Gold Coast community than desperate Meaghan Scanlon ever has or will.
“These desperate attacks are why the community must vote out Meaghan Scanlon, because a vote for Labor’s Meaghan Scanlon returns the Miles government and youth crime, housing, health and cost of living will continue to get worse under Labor.”
Labor on the weekend accused Opposition leader David Crisafulli – the Member for Broadwater – of “secretly” living in Brisbane after selling a multimillion Coast canal home three years ago.
The Crisafulli family is renovating an old Queenslander within walking distance of the Brisbane river in the inner city suburb of Bulimba.
A spokesman for Mr Crisafulli described the attack as “next level desperate”, adding that he had kept a separate residence in the electorate.
Exposed: LNP hopefuls living outside electorates
The LNP’s two “golden” Gold Coast candidates – Bianca Stone and Hermann Vorster – are not living in their electorates, according to the electoral roll.
The party considers Ms Stone a strong chance of defeating Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon in Gaven, and Mr Vorster – courtesy of his councillor profile – becoming the next MP in Burleigh.
Candidates in the race to the October poll living outside their electorate involve not just the LNP – the ALP admit its Labor candidate in the northern seat of Theodore is from Ipswich. Rita Anwari is a well-known advocate in Ipswich’s multicultural community.
The LNP’s Mark Boothman is expected to retain his seat despite her strong profile.
Mr Vorster was the former Robina-based councillor before gaining preselection for the LNP in Burleigh after their MP Michael Hart announced he would retire at the October state poll.
Australian Electoral Commission records show Mr Vorster lives in Robina. He is eligible to vote in the Mermaid Beach electorate held by LNP colleague Ray Stevens.
Ms Stone who was the Coast Sunrise reporter on Channel 7 for 18 years won a tough battle for LNP preselection in Gaven after strong competition from longer serving party members Kirsten Jackson and Lisa Smith.
Electoral Commission records show Ms Stone is living in Ormeau. She is eligible to vote for colleague Michael Crandon, the Member for Coomera.
Candidates running for the state election are not required to live in their electorate, only be enrolled in a Queensland electorate. Council candidates must live in the local authority area.
Apart from enrolment, state candidates must only satisfy that they are not serving a prison sentence, have been found guilty of a major crime or a bankrupt.
Neither Mr Vorster or Ms Stone answered questions put to them by the Bulletin about their residence or whether they would move into the electorates they hope to represent.
Instead, a joint statement was issued by the LNP, taking aim at Ms Scanlon.
“We have far stronger connections with the Gold Coast community than desperate Meaghan Scanlon ever has or will,” the statement reads.
“These desperate attacks are why the community must vote out Meaghan Scanlon, because a vote for Labor’s Meghan returns the Miles government and youth crime, housing, health and cost of living will continue to get worse under Labor.”
A Labor spokeswoman responded, saying: “Gaven MP and Minister for Housing, Local Government and Planning and Minister for Public Works Meaghan Scanlon was born and bred on the Gold Coast and lives in Gaven, the electorate and community she represents in state parliament. Our Labor Gold Coast candidates are upfront about where they live.
“They all live on the Gold Coast except for Rita Anwari who says if elected she will move to Theodore.”
The Bulletin in a special investigation on Saturday revealed Mr Crisafulli was living outside his electorate, the family moving to Hawthorne in inner city Brisbane.
He is not the first leader placed in that situation, with former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk representing Inala while living in the neighbouring LNP seat of Mount Ommaney.
In the 2012 State election campaign, a key issue was the decision of then LNP candidate Campbell Newman not living in the Labor electorate of Ashgrove. Kate Jones lost her seat but defeated Mr Newman, who became Premier, in 2015.
The LNP constitution on rules for candidates says “in the case of a selection for a Federal Division, a State Electorate or a Local Authority the nominators must reside in the Division, Electorate or Local Authority area”.
Deputy Premier Cameron Dick, who has accused Mr Crisafulli of abandoning his Coast constituents, has defended LNP criticism that he did not live in his electorate.
“I proudly live in the City of Logan. My house was in my electorate until the boundary moved 3km away,” he said.
“When I am on the roof cleaning my gutters I can see my electorate. Unlike David Crisafulli I have not cut and run, and I’ve not abandoned my electorate and the city it is in.
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Originally published as Queensland State election 2024: Both LNP and Labor candidates living outside the electorates where they would become MPs
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