STUCKEY STAND-IN SEARCH BEGINS
THE LNP preselection process to replace long-standing Currumbin MP Jann Stuckey promises to be messy with barrister Chris Crawford and retired former top cop Jim Keogh the early frontrunners.
Former State of Origin footballer Ben Hannant has also been mentioned.
Ms Stuckey announced her pending retirement late last week, citing health issues, after 15 years.
Labor says it will target the LNP seat at next year’s poll to get more of a footprint on the Coast. Meaghan Scanlon in Gaven is the ALP’s only representative.
LABOR will target the marginal state seat of Currumbin after long-serving LNP MP Jann Stuckey announced her retirement.
LNP sources suggest the decision by Ms Stuckey is not just health related, that the party convinced her it needed time to build up the profile of her successor before the state poll in October next year.
The preselection process promises to be messy with Ms Stuckey backing barrister Chris Crawford while party heavyweights have shown interest in retired former top cop Jim Keogh.
“Jann has been taking (Mr Crawford) around everywhere she goes,” a party source said. “He’s been to a lot of surf lifesaving functions. You need someone who is a bit of a knockabout.”
Former top NRL player and radio personality Ben Hannant is also being mentioned in preselection talk but the LNP fears it will attract criticism by not replacing Ms Stuckey with a female candidate.
“Jann has had health issues,” a party source said. “But she was always going. She had been a minister. When she was not part of the shadow ministry, you could see she’d had enough of this.”
Labor won the southern seat in 1992 and Merri Rose retained it through three elections until suffering a 17.7 per cent swing in 2004 in the wake of her accident-prone ministry.
Ms Stuckey has won at every election since but a 15 per cent swing against her in 2015 and further 2.4 per cent drop in the two-party preferred vote in 2017 put it within reach of Labor. The Greens have recorded a strong consistent vote in the state poll of about 10 per cent and their candidate Alan Quinn received 11 per cent of the primary vote, up 0.7 per cent in the most recent federal poll in the southern seat of McPherson, which covers Currumbin.
Gold Coast-based Labor Senator Murray Watt said the ALP, apart from aiming to improve the margin for Meaghan Scanlon as the sitting MP in Gaven, would target Currumbin.
“Jann Stuckey has served the Currumbin electorate for many years and I wish her well on her retirement,” Senator Watt said.
“This is a golden opportunity for the LNP to redress its dire shortage of women MPs. Currently, only 15 per cent of LNP MPs are women.
“This is well short of what is acceptable in this day and age. With Ms Stuckey retiring, Labor will certainly be targeting the seat of Currumbin in the next state election.