THE PEOPLE have spoken and have re-elected both the sitting MP for the Whitsundays and the sitting MP for Burdekin, in Saturday’s Queensland Government Election.
Five candidates nominated for the seat of Whitsunday: Peter Atchison, Family First Party, Amanda Camm, Liberal National Party of Queensland, Julie Hall, One Nation Queensland, Bauke Hovinga, Queensland Labor and Elena Quirk, Queensland Greens.
And six candidates nominated for the Burdekin Electorate (which includes Bowen and Collinsville): Anne Baker, Australian Labor Party; Daniel Carroll, Katter’s Australian Party (KAP); Andrew Elborne, One Nation; Dale Last, LNP; Amanda Nickson, Family First; and Ben Watkin, The Greens.
Despite the relatively full field of candidates for both state electorates, Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm had a convincing win with 52.14 per cent of the votes in the Official First Preference Count (at time of publishing).
And Burdekin MP Dale Last also won by a significant margin, gaining 54.54 per cent of the votes in the Official First Preference Count (at time of publishing).
Both MPs represent the Liberal National Party, with their wins reflecting a state-wide swing to the LNP, away from Labor, with David Crisafulli now the State’s Premier having ousted Steven Miles.
With the LNP now in power at state level, the fact that both the Whitsunday MP and Burdekin MP are both LNP should mean even greater representation for the Whitsundays in the State Parliament.
The LNP campaigned on a platform of ‘A Fresh Start for Queensland’ including being tough on crime, having more police, and protecting bulk billing.
Labor had the second highest number of votes in both the Whitsunday and Burdekin electorates, with Bauke Hovinga gaining 21.63 per cent of the votes (Whitsunday) and Anne Baker gaining 25.77 per cent (Burdekin).
The remaining votes were split between:
In the Whitsundays, the Family First Party, The Greens and One Nation, with former Whitsundays Mayor Julie Hall gaining an 18.28 per cent share of the vote for One Nation.
And in the Burdekin, the remaining votes were split between the Family First Party, The Greens, One Nation and Katter’s Australian Party, which gained 7.82 per cent of the votes.
AT A GLANCE
Official First Preference Count (correct at time of publishing)
In the Whitsundays, the five candidates polled as follows:
Amanda Camm, LNP – 52.14%
Bauke Hovinga, Queensland Labor – 21.63%
Julie Hall, One Nation Queensland – 18.28%
Elena Quirk, Queensland Greens – 5.25%
Peter Atchison, Family First Party – 2.70%
In the Burdekin, the six candidates polled as follows:
Dale Last, LNP – 54.54%
Anne Baker, Australian Labor Party – 25.77%
Daniel Carroll, Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) – 7.82%
Andrew Elborne, One Nation – 6.94%
Amanda Nickson, Family First – 2.71%
Ben Watkin, The Greens – 2.22%
Official First Preference Count (correct at time of publishing).
