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THE POLL BLUDGER FADDEN
Currently covering the outer north of the Gold Coast and the developing area to the north, Fadden was oriented in the south of Brisbane when it was created in 1977. It was won for the Liberals on its debut by Don Cameron, who had been member for Griffith since 1966. Cameron was defeated by Labor's David Beddall when the Hawke government came to power in 1983, returning to parliament later in the year at a by-election in Moreton. The seat was recovered for the Liberals in 1984 by David Jull, who had lost Bowman the previous year. It remained in the marginal seat range until 1996, when the famous Queensland baseball bat hit Labor to the tune of 12.5 per cent. Fadden was substantially altered by the redistribution at the 2004 election, when knock-on effects from the creation of nearby Bonner forced it south into Nerang, where it picked up 30,000 new voters. The latest redistribution has been more subtle, moving the inland area of Cedar Creek and Upper Coomera to Forde and adding a chunk of Southport from Moncrieff. The changes have had no effect on the existing 15.3 per cent margin. With David Jull retiring after 32 years in politics, the Liberals have nominated former army intelligence officer Stuart Robert, who won preselection ahead of Olympic kayaker and real estate agent Andrew Trim. Nationals candidate Alex Douglas was briefly the member for the state seat of Gaven, winning the seat from Labor at a by-election in April last year before going down to defeat at the September general election. | |