Proposed Queensland Electoral Redistribution Unveiled
The Queensland Redistribution Commission (QRC) has published proposed changes to state electoral boundaries, including the creation of two new electorates and the abolition of two existing ones. The changes, the first since 2017, are based on population shifts and projected growth and will take effect for the 2028 state election.
Key Boundary Changes
The QRC has proposed abolishing two seats:
- Stretton, currently held by the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
- Hill, currently held by Katter's Australian Party (KAP).
In their place, two new electorates will be created in south-east Queensland:
- Caboolture, in the Moreton Bay region, formed from parts of Glass House, Morayfield, and Pumicestone.
- Springfield, in the Ipswich area, formed from parts of Bundamba and Jordan.
Overall, 50 of Queensland's 93 electorates are affected by the proposed changes. The QRC stated that the decision to abolish the two seats was "not proposed lightly."
"The decision to abolish the two seats was 'not proposed lightly.'"
Electorate Renaming
The commission has proposed renaming 17 to 19 electorates to reflect their geographic location, a departure from the previous review which named 11 electorates after notable deceased Australians. Examples include:
- McConnel reverting to Brisbane Central
- Maiwar reverting to Indooroopilly
- Cooper reverting to Ashgrove
- Oodgeroo reverting to Cleveland
Impact on Electorates
The redistribution alters the composition of several seats:
- Hill: Its territory is distributed among Flinders, Hinchinbrook, and Mulgrave.
- Stretton: Two-thirds of its voters are moved to Eight Mile Plains (formerly Toohey), with the remainder moving to Algester.
- Currumbin: A Labor margin of 0.6% becomes a notional Liberal National Party (LNP) margin of 5.4%.
- Beenleigh (replacing Macalister): Changes from a Labor margin of 1.9% to an LNP margin of 0.4%.
- Thuringowa and Mackay: Gained conservative semi-rural territory.
- Glass House: The LNP margin reduces from 10.2% to 5.7% due to the loss of its southern end to Caboolture.
- Inner-city seats where the Greens are competitive, including Maiwar (Indooroopilly), Cooper (Ashgrove), and South Brisbane, show minimal changes to their primary vote share, all within half a percentage point.
Several seats will see significant shifts in electoral margins, notably on the Gold Coast and in the state's south-east.
Reactions
-
KAP MP Shane Knuth, who loses his seat of Hill for the third time via redistribution, described the changes as "a political hit job" and "a disgrace for north Queenslanders." He has not decided whether to contest a neighboring seat. KAP leader Robbie Katter commented on the LNP's submission which advocated for the abolition of Hill.
-
ALP MP Meaghan Scanlon, whose Gold Coast electorate of Gaven faces significant boundary changes, said she would consider the final boundaries before deciding whether to recontest the seat.
-
LNP state director Ben Riley observed that Labor appeared to benefit from the creation of new seats in areas considered their strongholds.
"Labor appeared to benefit from the creation of new seats in areas considered their strongholds." — LNP state director Ben Riley
- Opposition leader Steven Miles indicated that Labor would analyze the draft boundaries and express any concerns.
Commission's Observations and Timeline
The QRC acknowledged that the large geographical size of north Queensland electorates creates challenges for representatives. It suggested that increasing the number of electorates or providing greater support for regional MPs could address this issue.
Objections to the proposed boundary changes can be submitted over the next month. The redistribution is expected to be finalized in June.