Labor is facing a tough fight across Queensland to win a fourth term in government. From North Queensland to the inner city, the party is at risk of losing key battleground seats to the SNLP and minor parties.
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00:00In Bundaberg, Queensland's most marginal seat, cost of living is biting hard.
00:11People are struggling.
00:12They really are.
00:13They just don't have enough money to last them the week out.
00:17Discount groceries are in high demand, bread is always popular and meat flies off the shelf.
00:24When we get protein, meat of any type, we are flat out because it is expensive to get.
00:31Local Labor member Tom Smith knows tough times mean a tough campaign.
00:37The former teacher is vying for a second term after winning by just nine votes at the 2020
00:44election.
00:45Too many politicians think that their job is to go down to Parliament and sit around
00:50and talk to each other and talk about numbers and leadership coups and all this sort of
00:53stuff.
00:54The work's done in your electorate.
00:56Bundaberg used to be Labor heartland, but in recent years it's become a swing seat.
01:02The LNP is hopeful it'll turn back to blue.
01:06I've been in the field for over a year now and that's afforded me the opportunity to
01:11get out and meet lots and lots of people.
01:13Bundaberg is one of five seats on thin margins Labor secured last election, largely due to
01:20voter satisfaction with the government's response to the COVID pandemic.
01:25The LNP is expected to comfortably claw them back.
01:29What we are seeing in the published opinion polls is that the Palaszczuk pensioners who
01:36delivered some seats to Labor last time have gone back to the normal voting trends that
01:43they adhere to.
01:45In regional Queensland in particular, Labor is facing a tough fight from the LNP.
01:51To stay in power, the ALP must retain key battleground seats such as Townsville, Mundingborough
01:57and Thuringowa in north Queensland.
02:00Other marginals that could fall include the bellwether seat of Barron River, Cairns, Keppel
02:06and southeast electorates like Redlands and Aspley.
02:13And Labor is facing a challenge on another front from the Greens.
02:17This is when our conversations start having greater and greater impact.
02:22The party is targeting Labor's inner city, Heartland.
02:26Cooper, which takes in some western suburbs of Brisbane, is one seat the Greens are eyeing
02:31off.
02:32We've knocked on over 20,000 doors and our entire policy platform is really speaking
02:38to the everyday needs and concerns of the people we're speaking to.
02:43John T Bush's re-election campaign is in full swing.
02:48The Labor incumbent knows she's under threat, but is confident she'll hang on.
02:52I'm door knocking and I'm talking to people.
02:55The thing that people talk to me about is that they want to remember who will turn up,
02:58who beyond a campaign is going to turn up, is going to represent their views.
03:03I notice that the Greens are saying that they are going to pick up a swathe of seats in
03:07the inner city.
03:08The only history I have for that is that certainly didn't occur in the council level earlier
03:14this year.
03:15It's anyone's game ahead of polling day.