Labor reels from left jab
Gaven was one of the last seats to be decided at the 2015 Queensland poll with Mr Riordan falling only 912 votes short of the LNP’s Sid Cramp.
Ms Scanlon improved Labor’s vote by 3.9 per cent when she first stood against LNP MP Stuart Robert in Fadden during the 2016 federal election.
A senior Coast Labor source said: “I’m absolutely furious. Michael is absolutely devastated. I think about all the work he has put in. The old Labor Party gave people a fair go. You didn’t turn up and get a seat. Meaghan is a nice young woman. She hasn’t done anything here.
“It’s factional, the Left has said they’re taking over the Coast, and they have.”
The ALP has yet to recover after losing four seats in 2012, ending involving experienced MPs like Peter Lawlor, Christine Smith and Margaret Keech.
Ms Scanlon said her parents had owned a shop at Nerang and she was honoured to be preselected for a seat in the area.
“For far too long the Gold Coast has been taken for granted by a wall of LNP MPs.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has welcomed the pre-selection. “I want Meaghan on my team to continue the fight for the health, education and infrastructure needs of the Coast.”