THE POLL BLUDGER
Queensland Legislative Assembly Election 2006

BARRON RIVER
Labor 3.1%

Barron River consists of the northern suburbs of Cairns and extends beyond for about 15 kilometres to the west and north along the coast as far as Trinity Beach. Retiring Labor member Lesley Clark has held the seat for all but one term since the 1989 election, at which Labor's victory meant an end to what Antony Green described as an electoral boundary "helpful" to the Nationals. It had previously been held by Labor from its creation in 1972 until 1974, and by the National Party thereafter. Clark lost the seat in 1995 when Liberal candidate Lyn Warwick got the best of a three-cornered contest, but recovered it by a margin of 0.6 per cent amid the upheaval of the 1998 election. One Nation candidate Peter Starr narrowly failed to beat Warwick into second place on that occasion, and would most likely have won the seat with her preferences had he done so. Clark, Warwick and Starr again took the field at the 2001 election, a contest further complicated by Cairns councillor and independent candidate Sno Bonneau who finished second with 19.0 per cent of the primary vote. The three-way split in the non-Labor vote helped Clark to a 7.3 per cent two-candidate margin over Bonneau, a situation that was corrected in 2004 when the Liberal vote doubled.

Labor's nominee to replace Clark is criminal lawyer Steve Wettenhall (left), who was preselected unopposed after early reports he would face competition from Cairns diving industry spokesman Col McKenzie. Tourism operator Stephen Welsh (right) will run for the Liberals for the second successive election despite earlier indications he was seeking to replace Warren Entsch upon his retirement as federal member for Leichhardt at the next election.

ASSESSMENT: LIBERAL GAIN