‘Twisted tale’ mystery bet

THE 2017 state election campaign will not just determine the next government of Queensland – it will also prove whose political gamble paid off.

For Labor, it is the reintroduction of compulsory preferential voting; a political coup at the time which could now come back to bite them.

For the LNP and the Katter’s Australian Party, it is the push to add four more seats to the parliamentary chamber as part of the electoral boundaries redistribution which kicks in this election.

The redistribution altered most Queensland seats including the two KAP seats it was designed to save. KAP MP Shane Knuth is now running for the new seat of Hill after Dalrymple was abolished.

Griffith University political commentator Paul Williams said CPV was “a twisted tale”.

“Initially it was going to be a Labor advantage,” he said.

“Then with the rise of One Nation it was going to be a Labor disadvantage. But now, with One Nation probably numbering every sitting member last, it could well be a Labor advantage again.”