Last-gasp bid to re-elect MP

Labor in push to preserve Stewart

LABOR’S most-at-risk MP could be under more pressure than previously thought, with the party attempting a large targeted push at the height of the campaign to get Townsville’s Scott Stewart over the line.

And despite a staggering 50 per cent of voters in the seat already casting their ballot, political experts say the move could still work.

Mr Stewart, who holds the electorate of Townsville with a wafer thin margin of 0.4 per cent, has been front and centre of a last-minute wave of ministerial visits since the end of last week, including back to back announcements for his electorate yesterday.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also hosted a rally of the party faithful in Mr Stewart’s electorate on Sunday before jetting off the next morning.

Political advertising for the electorate has ramped up in the last week, with Labor pumping out ads specifically targeting LNP candidate John Hathaway’s term as a Newman-era MP.

Labor insiders told the Townsville Bulletin the vote still seemed split 50/50 based on feedback at early voting centres but internal tracking seems to have picked up “some issues” in Mr Stewart’s campaign, sparking the last ditch effort.

There are fears local issues, like crime, are resonating stronger than the COVID-19 pandemic health and economic response, which could push voters to cast a protest vote.

The concerns lay in not knowing how the preferences of the protest vote will flow.

A senior Labor source admitted it was not an ideal scenario that half the electorate had already voted but the party still viewed the seat as winnable, with resources being poured into the campaign in its final days.

Queensland University of Technology political expert and former Labor parliamentary speaker John Mickel said the momentum of the last week of the campaign could help turn those that remained undecided.

“Labor needs to minimise its losses in North and far north Queensland, and all the Townsville seats are an integral part of that,” Prof Mickel said.

“Lose four seats to the LNP and it’s all over, that’s how close it is.”