Currumbin – Queensland 2015

LNP 20.19%

Incumbent MP
Jann Stuckey, since 2004.

Geography
Gold Coast. Currumbin is the southernmost electorate in the Gold Coast, bordering New South Wales. It covers the suburbs of Coolangatta, Tugun, Currumbin and Elanora, as well as the Currumbin and Tallebudgera valleys.

History
The seat of Currumbin has existed since 1986. The seat has alternated between all three major parties, and has been held by the Liberal Party/LNP since 2004.

The seat was first won in 1986 by the National Party’s Leo Gately. In 1989, Gately was defeated by the Liberal Party’s Trevor Coomber. Coomber was defeated in 1992 by the ALP’s Merri Rose.

Rose was re-elected in 1995, 1998 and 2001, and joined the ministry after the 2001 election.

In 2004, Rose was defeated by the Liberal Party’s Jann Stuckey. Rose was later convicted of demanding benefit with threats due to her attempts to find work in the public service following her election loss, and she was sentence to 18 months in prison.

Jann Stuckey retained Currumbin at the 2006, 2009 and 2012 elections. Stuckey has served as Minister for Tourism since the 2012 election.

Candidates

  • Ashley Wain (Labor)
  • Kristian Rees (Palmer United)
  • Ben Donovan (Family First)
  • Deborah Gravenall (One Nation)
  • Jann Stuckey (Liberal National)
  • David Wyatt (Greens)

Assessment
While Currumbin was held by Labor in the 1990s, the seat is now reasonably safe for the LNP and it’s hard to see the seat changing hands in 2015.

2012 election result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Jann Stuckey Liberal National 16,237 58.84 +7.77
Calum Hyslop Labor 6,051 21.93 -14.65
David Wyatt Greens 2,624 9.51 +0.31
Steve Bowman Katter’s Australian 1,973 7.15 +7.15
Royston Pickering Family First 710 2.57 +2.57

2012 two-party-preferred result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Jann Stuckey Liberal National 17,245 70.19 +13.3
Calum Hyslop Labor 7,325 29.81 -13.30
Polling places in Currumbin at the 2012 Queensland state election. Central in blue, East in yellow, West in green. Click to enlarge.
Polling places in Currumbin at the 2012 Queensland state election. Central in blue, East in yellow, West in green. Click to enlarge.

Booth breakdown
Booths in Currumbin have been split into three parts: Central, East and West. The ‘central’ area covers Currumbin, Elanora and Palm Beach. The ‘east’ covers Coollangatta, and the ‘west’ covers the Currumbin and Tallebudgera valleys.

The Liberal National Party won comfortable majorities of the primary vote in all three areas, ranging from 56.8% in the east to 61% in the west. On a two-party-preferred basis, the LNP majority ranged from 67.1% in the east to 75.1% in the west.

Labor came second, with a vote ranging from 15.9% in the west to 25.4% in the east. The Greens came third, with a vote ranging from 8.3% in the east to 12.4% in the west.

The Electoral Commission does not publish two-party-preferred figures by polling place, so two-party-preferred figures in the following table and map are estimates.

Voter group LNP prim % ALP prim % GRN prim % LNP 2PP % Total % of votes
Central 57.75 22.69 9.83 69.17 12,609 45.69
East 56.82 25.37 8.33 67.07 5,005 18.14
West 60.95 15.86 12.39 75.08 2,566 9.30
Other votes 61.32 20.40 8.77 72.39 7,415 26.87
Estimated two-party-preferred votes in Currumbin at the 2012 Queensland state election.
Estimated two-party-preferred votes in Currumbin at the 2012 Queensland state election.
Greens primary votes in Currumbin at the 2012 Queensland state election.
Greens primary votes in Currumbin at the 2012 Queensland state election.

6 COMMENTS

  1. The Labor candidate is Ashley Wain
    http://www.queenslandlabor.org/candidate/ashley-wain/

    Given how solid the Gold Coast is for the LNP at federal level it’s quite surprising to me that Labor held this seat during the 1990s, as opposed to other parts of the Coast which they held during the peak of the Beattie era. Rose’s defeat in 2004 was significantly blamed on a late campaign announcement by Beattie of a new route for the Tugun bypass which would’ve seen the compulsory acquisition of several homes instead of traversing environmentally-sensitive areas. Post-election the bypass was reerted to its previously planned route.

  2. The seat of Currumbin needs a change and quite frankly it does not matter who holds it. The two overlapping councillors effectively run the seat anyway. We need fresh blood with powers of perspective and persuasion in Bne. Jann Stuckey should never have accepted the Tourism Minister Portfolio and responsibility for Comm Games. She is an ex nurse and does not have the experience or personna for such roles which are clearly beyond her. I could understand health or aged services or something like that. So, she has effectively played a tap onthe head role for Newmsn and Seeney and has had no comment to make on tourism infrastructure alternatives and priorities forGC- because she doesn’t know. So lets turn a new page and elect someone else! She has had her go!

  3. The seat of Currumbin needs a change and quite frankly it does not matter who holds it. The two overlapping councillors effectively run the seat anyway. We need fresh blood with powers of perspective and persuasion in Bne. Jann Stuckey should never have accepted the Tourism Minister Portfolio and responsibility for Comm Games. She is an ex nurse and does not have the experience or personna for such roles which are clearly beyond her. I could understand health or aged services or something like that. So, she has effectively played a tap on
    the head role for Newmsn and Seeney and has had no comment to make on tourism infrastructure alternatives and priorities forGC- because she doesn’t know. So lets turn a new page and elect someone else! She has had her go!

  4. Hopefully a big swing for labor here. It’s always a seat that can swing big but hopefully puts it in a position where labor can pick it up next time

  5. Can’t vote for the one nation candidate as in the federal election, she was actually with pup in gippsland Victoria ….

Comments are closed.