ROBBIE Katter "will almost certainly win Mount Isa" at the state election, according to leading Queensland political academic and media writer Dr Paul Williams.
In an exclusive interview yesterday with The North West Star's editor JOHN SCHALCH, Dr Williams said the ripple effect of the statewide anti-government feeling means "Labor is far too damaged a brand" here.
There is bad news also for the Campbell Newman-led LNP, with Dr Williams clear that voters will "almost certainly bypass" them. However, there was some good news for sitting Labor member Mrs Betty Kiernan.
Dr Williams, a senior lecturer at the School of Humanities in Griffith University's Gold Coast campus, said he does not count Mount Isa as a marginal seat and said it was important to note Mount Isa's strong preference for Labor since its creation at the 1971 redistribution.
"Labor has held it for 28 of the past 40 years. Betty won it in 2006 with a 12 per cent margin."
Dr Williams said he suspected a lot of the disgruntled Labor vote will move directly to Katter.
"The question is: who will run third? LNP or ALP, and where will those preferences go?" He said the seat of Mount Isa may well go down to the wire."
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