Chatsworth – QLD 2017

LNP 3.3%

Incumbent MP
Steve Minnikin, since 2012.

Geography
South-Eastern parts of the City of Brisbane. Chatsworth covers the Brisbane suburbs of Belmont, Carindale, Carina Heights, Gumdale, Chandler and parts of Carina and Tingalpa.

Redistribution
Chatsworth’s boundaries contracted slightly, losing part of Tingalpa to Lytton, and losing part of Carina to Greenslopes. These changes increased the LNP margin from 2.6% to 3.3%.

History
Chatsworth was first created at the 1960 election. The seat was dominated by the Liberal Party in its early years, with the Liberals holding the seat from 1960 to 1977.

In 1977 the Labor Party made a recovery against the governing National-Liberal coalition, gaining twelve seats. In Chatsworth the seat was won by the ALP’s Terry Mackenroth.

Mackenroth became a minister in the new Labor government in 1989, serving as a minister until Labor lost power in 1996. He returned to the ministry in the new Labor government in 1998.

In 2000, Mackenroth was elected Deputy Premier in the Beattie government. He became Treasurer in 2001 and served in both those roles until his retirement in 2005.

Mackenroth had held on to Chatsworth in 2004 with a 61.4% margin. This margin collapsed at the 2005 by-election, with the Liberal candidate, Brisbane City councillor Michael Caltabiano, winning the seat with a 13.9% swing.

Caltabiano was one of only seven Liberal MPs after his by-election win and he quickly rose through the ranks of the opposition. He was appointed Shadow Treasurer shortly before the 2006 state election.

At that election, Caltabiano lost Chatsworth to the Labor candidate, former sports presenter Chris Bombolas. The ALP won by barely 400 votes. Bombolas became a parliamentary secretary in the Labor government in 2007 and then retired due to poor health in 2009.

At the 2009 state election, the Liberal National Party ran Angela Caltabiano, wife of the former MP. The ALP ran firefighter Steve Kilburn.

The result was extremely close, with the ALP’s Kilburn eventually declared the winner. The case went to court and after six months the ALP was confirmed as the winner, winning by only 85 votes.

In 2012, Kilburn was defeated by LNP candidate Steve Minnikin. Minnikin was re-elected in 2015.

Candidates

• Steve Minnikin (Liberal National)
• Paul Keene (Labor)
• Dave Nelson (Greens)

Assessment
Chatsworth is a marginal LNP seat.

2015 election result

2015 two-party-preferred result

Booth breakdown

Booths in Chatsworth have been divided into three areas: central, east and west.

The LNP won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in two out of three areas, polling 56% in the east and 57% in the centre. Labor polled 52.4% in the west.

Two-party-preferred in Chatsworth at the 2015 QLD state election