THE POLL BLUDGER
Queensland Legislative Assembly Election 2006

LOCKYER
Nationals 4.1%

Lockyer covers urban hinterland to the south and west of Ipswich. Along with Tablelands, it is one of only two seats that has been won on more than occasion by One Nation, and has never been held by Labor in a history that goes back to 1888. National Party member Tony Fitzgerald, who had won the seat from the Liberals in 1980, was defeated in 1998 by One Nation's Peter Prenzler, who polled 39.8 per cent of the primary vote to Fitzgerald's 25.5 per cent (down from 66.6 per cent in 1995) and prevailed with a two-party margin of 3.7 per cent. Prenzler was in the City-Country Alliance camp by the time of the 2001 election, when he was outpolled by the One Nation candidate Bill Flynn (with the Nationals reduced to fourth place). Leadership of the rump of One Nation did not help Flynn at the 2004 election, with Nationals candidate Ian Rickuss (right) boosting his party's primary vote from 16.9 per cent to 34.9 per cent, Flynn reduced to third place and Peter Prenzler (running again as an independent) fourth. Rickuss was given the role of parliamentary secretary to the Shadow State Development and Small Business Minister following the September 2005 coalition agreement.

ASSESSMENT: Nationals retain