PM SAYS: I’M HERE TO HELP
LNP’s biggest gun swoops in to help Entsch across the line
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison has made a last-minute election pitch to Leichhardt voters in the final throes of the campaign, recognising it will come down to the wire.
Incumbent LNP MP Warren Entsch (right) was tipped to win the seat according to this week’s exclusive Cairns
Post YouGov Galaxy poll but his 3.9 per cent margin was set to take a beating.
Enter stage right, the Prime Minister.
“I take none of it for granted and that’s why I’m here today,” he said at Mooroobool yesterday.
“I’m always confident about the work Warren’s done.”
However, Labor insiders are still hopeful candidate Elida Faith will be able to overturn the thin margin.
SCOTT Morrison has made a final plea to Leichhardt voters to vote for Warren Entsch during an exclusive interview with the Cairns Post.
The Prime Minister touched down in Cairns after a brief stopover in Townsville yesterday, then flew out to finish campaigning down south.
Speaking in the Mooroobool backyard of a young family’s first home, he said Leichhardt was likely to come down to the wire.
“This is going to be one of the closest elections, if not the closest, we’ve seen in a long time,” he said.
Mr Morrison said incumbent Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch’s re-election was crucial to the Coalition retaining government – a tall order if current predictions ring true.
“I take none of it for granted, and that’s why I’m here today,” he said. “Because without Warren in our team, then we can’t form a government, and that’s what we intend to do in this election.”
Frank Beveridge is fighting to oust Bob Katter in Kennedy, although betting agency Ladbrokes has the LNP candidate paying $12 compared to Mr Katter’s $1.05 payout.
The Prime Minister argued the Coalition’s groundwork should pave the way for an upset in the seat but he was more confident about Leichhardt.
The Cairns Post’s exclusive YouGov Galaxy poll of 634 voters published yesterday revealed Mr Entsch was sitting at 39.5 per cent of the primary vote compared to Labor candidate Elida Faith at 34 per cent.
After preferences, a 51 per cent to 49 per cent win for the Coalition was predicted.
However, Labor insiders are still hopeful overturning that thin margin is a surmountable feat.
“I’m always confident about the work Warren’s done,” Mr Morrison said.
“You do the work and people see the work that’s been done, then they have all the right reasons to support Warren.
“That’s the basis for my confidence.
“But this election is different in every part of the country.”