Safety first: Re-elected MP vows to restore CBD order
Marty Hunt, third from right, with his wife Kelly, supporters and family at the Club Hotel Namba on Saturday night. Mr Hunt is promising swift action on establishing a police beat and CCTV in Nambour CBD.
By Cameron Outridge
As he returns to parliament, LNP candidate Marty Hunt is determined to focus on the core issue that resonated with voters throughout his campaign: community safety.
“People in Nambour don’t feel safe shopping in town, and businesses say their customers and staff feel the same,” said Mr Hunt. While not officially declaring victory, as of yesterday (October 29) he had attracted 53.16% of votes to ALP candidate Rob Skelton’s 46.84%.
“For older residents, seeing people drinking or squaring up in the street may not show up in crime stats, but it’s real, and it makes them feel unsafe. That’s the point, and that’s what they [Labor] couldn’t get through their heads.”
Mr Hunt’s top priority is to help his government deliver the “Making Queensland Safer Laws” within his first 100 days in office, as outlined by Premier David Crisafulli.
He also plans to establish a permanent police beat in the heart of Nambour, equipped with live-feed CCTV linked to the police station. “We’ll have a police beat right there, with an officer walking around and CCTV live to the police station,” he said. “It’s a deterrent, and the police will also be able to respond quickly to issues.”
Rob Skelton, centre, and supporters gathered on election night at the Royal George.
Mr Hunt, who lost the seat to the ALP’s Rob Skelton in 2020 by less than a hundred votes, is ready to “hit the ground running” with his government’s plan. He says the community’s frustrations about crime and safety are long-standing, and he feels that the previous government simply did not listen.
“The Nambour Police Beat will be a permanent shop front. And it will be in the middle of the CBD. That’s what people have been asking for, for over a decade and they just keep getting told ‘no,’ even though the (former) Police Minister has one in his electorate.
Mr Skelton is pictured on the November 18, 2020 front page of the Gazette with Former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
“I presented a petition to Parliament, 2000 signatures to get one, and they just said ‘no’, I even organised a shop they could have leased for free. And they still said ‘no’.”
Mr Hunt said his other priorities included helping address cost of living pressures and fixing dangerous intersections in Palmwoods and Woombye. “We’ve got the dangerous intersection of Diddillibah Road and the Nambour Connection Road, Woombye, and we’ve got the Jubilee Drive-Chevallum Road rail overpass intersection in Palmwoods.
“The community’s been waiting a long time for action on these items, and the first part of that process is the design. We have those commitments on the table already, and we’re able to deliver those in government.”
Reflecting on his win, Mr Hunt acknowledged the hard work of his volunteers and empathised with his opponent. “I want to thank all my volunteers. They worked very, very hard over the last four years to listen to the community and bring solutions and commitments to the community,” he said.
“And I want to thank Rob Skelton for his work as a local member. I know what it’s like to lose an election. It’s devastating, and I wish nothing but the best for him and his family.”
Looking ahead, Mr Hunt remains focused on delivering tangible results for Nicklin. “I’ll be a member for everybody, whether you voted for me or not,” he said. “It’s about having a representative from Nicklin in Brisbane to fight for our community. We’ve made commitments, and now it’s time to make them happen.”
He said he was eager to move from the frustrations of being in Opposition to being in government, where he can deliver the changes the community has long been asking for.
“We fought hard, and now the real work begins. The community has been crying out for this for over a decade, and I’m excited to deliver.”