Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Once again the Australian Labor Party is using the people and industries of Central Queensland as political pawns by interfering in the democratic preselection process. The ALP talks about democracy but simply cannot walk the walk. It has been widely reported that the Leader of the Opposition has jumped into the middle of the party’s preselection process for the new electorate of Flynn, which took place last year and was overturned in recent days. The original candidate, Jennifer Algie, was installed by Labor Party headquarters after a tumultuous and controversial preselection. As I understand it, what happens with the ALP in Queensland now is that the people at the branch level vote, but head office has an equal number of votes; therefore, if head office or headquarters—however it is referred to—votes as a bloc, the preselection is overturned. That happened in Flynn, and has twice happened in Hinkler.

Many people were not happy with Ms Algie’s nomination—after all, she had been a failed state candidate and did not even live in the Flynn electorate. Nevertheless, she had the unwavering support of the party apparatchiks if not the party’s grassroots. But, lo and behold, on the back of falling unemployment rates and unease about Labor’s schizophrenic policy on coal, Ms Algie has disappeared, abdicated her position. The speculation started: why did she walk away from her nomination? Who decreed it? Who would replace her? Would the grassroots ever have their say on who will represent the party in that area of Queensland? All was revealed last week when the opposition leader anointed her successor in the form of Gladstone solicitor Chris Trevor.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Not Maxine McKew?

Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, not Maxine McKew, but that is a possibility. Mr Trevor has good form: his scare tactic campaign performed well for Labor at the last state election, and I believe he is scooting around Gladstone in a four wheel drive with a billboard on his vehicle. It is little wonder that the opposition leader rang Mr Trevor and urged him to seek preselection. I know that Labor is hoping that Flynn preselection will have a fairytale ending but, forgetting about the cinderellas of the story, the rank and file members are very much out of the picture. The biggest cinderella of them all, and quite unfairly so, is Daniel Rochford, who has sought preselection twice in the past 12 months and has been rejected on each occasion by factional interests. All he could muster for his own defence was: ‘It is not for me or any other member of the Labor Party to comment on internal Labor affairs.’ But Dave Burns, a former councillor, said, ‘What a slap in the face this is for Labor supporters in Gladstone.’ The question has got to be asked: what has Labor got against Daniel Rochford? (Time expired)