General News
30 October, 2024
Tunney keen to run again after big swing in LNP's favour
The runner-up in Traeger wants to provide some stability for the LNP in the region.
With Robbie Katter receiving his lowest election poll result in a decade, the LNP believes the KAP leader is vulnerable to an extended campaign onslaught.
Mr Katter secured about 50 per cent of the primary vote in Traeger on Saturday, which is the lowest first preference vote for the KAP leader since 2015, when he received about 46 per cent.
Meanwhile, the LNP saw its primary vote increase by more than eight per cent at the weekend – however, this was still less than half of the first preference votes secured by Mr Katter.
Despite this, LNP candidate Yvonne Tunney believes the KAP leader is vulnerable on his home turf if her party could run a long campaign and she has already begun speaking to party officials about being endorsed to contest the 2028 poll.
“I am extremely happy with our (LNP) result – we ran a short campaign, we didn’t have a lot of time to travel the electorate and speak with voters – and yet we still increased our vote,” she said.
“I have had people contact me in the past few days wanting to join the party and help out at the next election.
“We have received a consistent message that we should be campaigning earlier and continuing to hold Robbie Katter accountable in the meantime. I am planning on being the candidate at the next state election.”
While Mr Katter’s overall first preference vote was lower than the previous two elections, it was still a consistent and reasonably evenly spread vote result in 2024 – especially in the crucial major population centres of Cloncurry, Charters Towers and Mount Isa – where the KAP leader repeatedly received between 45-55 per cent of the primary vote.
Mr Katter secured his highest first preference vote in Doomadgee and Mornington Island, where he reached more than 70 per cent of the total.
His lowest support was in Croydon, where he secured 31 per cent of first preference votes.
Croydon was also where Ms Tunney received her highest polling numbers, receiving 53 per cent of the vote.
In Karumba, which is Ms Tunney’s home base, it was a dead heat between LNP and KAP – with both candidates securing 43 per cent of the booth total, which is about 59 votes each.
The Hughenden result also saw Ms Tunney come within about 40 votes of equaling Mr Katter’s primary total.
One Nation will also be satisfied with its overall result in Traeger, with its paper candidate, Cloncurry chef Peter Rawle, securing about 6.7 per cent of the primary vote, above the four per cent threshold required to attract “reimbursement” monies from the Electoral Commission of Queensland, which will earn the party more than $10,000.
With only 3.5 per cent of the primary vote, The Greens fell short of receiving “reimbursement monies” in Traeger.
