Nicklin on a knife-edge as Labor secures 5 percent swing
Marty Hunt, left, and Rob Skelton.
An apparent five percent swing to Labor means the thrilling count in Nicklin may continue until the postal votes cut off November 10.
Labor’s Robert Skelton seems to have ridden a wave of support for Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s handling of Coronavirus to secure the swing against LNP incumbent Marty Hunt.
But Mr Hunt may be breathing a little easier after Electoral Commission figures on Monday afternoon had the pair very close on the official first preference count, with Mr Hunt reversing the trend somewhat.
“From what I can gather, in unpublished figures I’m 83 votes two party preferred in front or thereabouts,” Mr Hunt said yesterday. “I seem to be leading in the postal votes as they continue to come in and hopefully they continue to go with us as they traditionally do.
“There’s been a couple of thousand postal votes, that haven’t been published, that came to us 54-46% two-party preferred. If that trend continues we might get across the line. But that’s not official. That’s only the running tally that we’ve kept. So it’s certainly on a knife edge.”
Mr Hunt said Labor’s clear messaging was key to their success. “I think Labor had an effective, simple message and it got through to people. There wasn’t anything about local issues, local policies or local candidates. Labor are very good at a simple message. It was all centralised messaging about how Annastacia Palaszczuk kept us safe and it was very effective. They managed to market us as a risk. We had a swag of policies and promises and visions but I think at the end of the day the average punter was attracted to Labor’s message.”
Mr Skelton said the result may not be known for several days. “Today, the day after polling day, we still don’t have a result for Nicklin,” he said. “The vote is so close that we may not have an outcome for many days.
“It really is too close to call. Today, the latest published ECQ results have only hundreds of votes separating it.
“Counting will continue as the postal and absentee votes roll in and preferences will be distributed when they are all in. Regardless of who eventually represents Nicklin, the fact remains that the result will be close.
“If I win, I will dedicate myself to gaining the trust and faith of all in Nicklin and will represent everyone with the same passion and focus. Nicklin needs and deserves strong, focused representation.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Labor for Nicklin campaign team for believing that the time had come for change and real leadership. Nicklin has never ever enjoyed Labor representation, and if I win, then I will demonstrate just how that empowers community and civic pride and cohesion. Labor unites communities, and Nicklin will benefit.
“Thank you one and all, and we await the electorate’s decision in just over a week’s time.”
Mr Hunt also thanked the community.
“I really hope I can continue the work that I have done and keep fighting for what our community needs. I love this community that I have called home for over 20 years but if this is the end of my service as MP I will still work to make Nicklin a better place in whatever capacity I can.”