Costigan loses seat to LNP

FORMER Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan was forced to relinquish his seat to his old party with Amanda Camm securing more than 52 per cent of the vote.

The LNP’S Ms Camm, the former deputy mayor of Mackay, was up against Labor candidate Angie Kelly, a school principal.

At 10.30pm on Saturday, Mr Costigan conceded after claiming less than 10 per cent of the vote. His party, NQ First, had promised to splash cash from Rockhampton to Cairns in a bid to win over the hearts of North Queensland and gain the balance of power in the Queensland parliament.

Mr Costigan said he was “very disappointed” in the result.

“Of course I’m p---ed off, it’s not the result I wanted,” he said. “Of course I’m upset.”

The MP also took a swipe at the media, saying “certain sections of the media” were against him.

It was a claim Pauline Hanson’s chief of staff

James Ashby also pushed in an ABC interview on election night.

He said the cuts to regional media made difficult for One Nation to get the word out.

“Rockhampton, Gladstone, Mackay, they’ve all lost their newspapers. So people – the only news they’ve had is from Brisbane and that has just been one massive fear campaign.”

Mr Ashby also attacked the ABC, saying: “And you guys down there, you suck it all up, the ABC is pretty fat down there in Brisbane. We’ve got nothing in the regions.”

In Townsville, One Nation’s vote tanked with Thuringowa candidate Jeni Alexander securing 9.22 per cent of the vote.

One Nation has been a key competitor in Thuringowa in the past with 2017 candidate Mark Thornton edging out the LNP in twoparty preferred at the last election.

In Mundingburra, candidate Ian Bowron’s former life as a police officer was not enough for him to crack more than 710 votes. it