WHY TOOWOOMBA NORTH IS CRUCIAL

Voters here key to result of state election on November 25

JUST a few hundred votes from people in Toowoomba’s northern suburbs could determine the next State Government.

Political stalwarts Trevor Watts and Kerry Shine prepare to do battle for a fourth time, after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the state would go to the polls on November 25.

With less than 1000 votes separating the two parties at the 2015 election, Toowoomba North is one of about a dozen marginal seats across Queensland that could decide the outcome of the election.

This will be the fourth time Mr Watts and Mr Shine have faced off in an election, and Mr Shine said he was determined to get projects like the Quarry Gardens off the ground, as well as focus on long-term employment opportunities.

“What I want to see is the Quarry Gardens happening, because it’s a job-creating project and we’ve already funded the business case,” he said.

“People are worried that even though the unemployment rate is low, a lot of the jobs are not secure.

“A lot of people are worried about the future for their children.”

Mr Shine also wanted to see a return of the Newtown Police Beat, after the previous officer retired from the QPS this year.

Mr Watts said his key issues included rising cost-of-living expenses, changes in unemployment levels and rising crime rates in Toowoomba.

“The key thing for the people of Toowoomba North is cost of living and changes in their employment,” he said.

“We need to make sure that people have secure jobs, that they have the roads that they need and that they feel safe in their communities.

“These are the sectors here in Toowoomba where we can work on good solid work opportunities.”

One Nation’s Paul Wilson and Emmeline Chidley from the Greens will also contest the seat.

In Toowoomba South, incumbent MP David Janetzki will take on the ALP’s Susan Krause, One Nation’s Jeremy Scamp and the Greens’ Alyce Nelligan.

The southern seat is a far safer bet for the LNP than the north, as the ALP hasn’t held it since 1974.

ELECTION CALLED: Toowoomba North candidates Trevor Watts of the LNP (left) and the ALP’s Kerry Shine relax over a coffee before the state election campaign starts in earnest. PHOTO: BEV LACEY

The front cover of The Chronicle in 2015, when Trevor Watts and Kerry Shine last ran.