Damien Murphy reports in the Brisbane Times (8.6.16) on the electoral battle over the seat of Petrie on Brisbane’s northern outskirts, held by the LNP’s Luke Howarth. The author highlights the seat’s history of being won by the party or parties forming government at several federal elections.
Howarth won the key seat in 2013 with a slender margin of 0.5 per cent, unseating the incumbent Labor MP, Yvette D’Ath, now Queensland’s Attorney General and state member for Redcliffe. Former members for Petrie include the ALP’s Gary Johns and the LNP’s Teresa Gambaro.
‘Redcliffe sits smack-dab in the middle of the electorate of Petrie and has a reputation for going with the flow.
‘The bayside Brisbane suburb is also the place that gave birth to the Bee Gees, surely the world’s most changeable pop group, whose work flowed from a few Australian hits to swinging London and on to disco. During a remarkable career they racked up No.1 hits over three decades.
‘The voters of Petrie keep changing their tune so often that the electorate has become an early litmus test for election-night pundits, with the seat being won by the party forming government at 14 of the last 15 elections.’