THE POLL BLUDGER
Queensland Legislative Assembly Election 2006

REDLANDS
Labor 8.5%

Redlands covers coastal suburbs south of the CBD, from Thornlands south to the Logan River. It was won by Labor upon its creation in 1972 but fell to the National Party at the 1974 landslide, remaining with them until Darryl Briskey finally recovered it as part of Labor's 1989 election win. Briskey moved to the new electorate of Cleveland at the 1992 election, when Redlands was carried for Labor by John Budd, husband of AWU factional heavyweight Joan Budd. He in turn was defeated in 1995 by John Hegarty of the National Party following a 9.9 per cent swing. Hegarty held on narrowly in 1998 before inevitably being swept out by the tide in 2001. Labor's candidate for that election had originally been John Budd, but he was disendorsed in late 2000 when a police investigation began into his misappropriation of nearly $30,000 of party funds, for which he received a suspended sentence in 2002. At this time the governnment was engulfed in the vote rorting crisis uncovered at the Shepherdson inquiry, and Peter Beattie took the opportunity to install police officer John English (left) as one of five "clean-skin" candidates without reference to a preselection ballot. The Nationals questionably won the right to contest the seat instead of the Liberals at the 2004 election, at which English added a further 1.6 per cent to his two-party vote. They have again succeeded in staring down the Liberals after it earlier appeared there would be a three-cornered contest, following a joint Coalition preselection that produced a tied result between the Nationals' nominee, local lawyer Russell Biddle (right), and Liberal Mal Cayley. The dispute ended with the Liberals conceding the seat as part of a deal that gave them a clear run in the Gold Coast seats of Broadwater and Mudgeeraba.

ASSESSMENT: Labor retain