Labor’s Queensland secretary Julie-Ann Campbell has paid a second visit to Mount Isa since taking on the role earlier this year, and the first since Labor announced its candidate for Kennedy.
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“I came here a week after I started and everyone was so hospitable up here I decided to come back again frequently,” Ms Campbell said.
“I’m here to undertake training with members which is critical for the ALP in regional Queensland to make sure we have strong branch membership on the ground.”
Ms Campbell said there was a second reason why that training she was carrying out was important.
“We’ve got a big election coming up soon and I wanted to touch base with the branch members about that and put in place some new programs for regional Queensland.”
The “big election” Ms Campbell refers to is the federal election which could be held any time between now and the middle of next year and Labor has settled on its candidate for the seat of Kennedy, Brett McGuire, who like his opponents Bob Katter and Frank Beveridge of the LNP, lives in Charters Towers.
Mr McGuire was born in Townsville, raised in Julia Creek and has lived his entire life in North Queensland.
His career includes working for Ergon Energy, a commercial pilot flying crop dusters and currently works in an underground coal mine as an electrician.
Ms Campbell said Mr McGuire was an excellent candidate.
“He hails from Charters Towers, he has worked in the electrical industry for a long time,” she said.
“He’s a young bloke with plenty of get up and go and I think he’ll be a wonderful candidate for the area.”
On a state politics level, the next state election date has been fixed as October 31, 2020 so it is a long way down the track but Ms Campbell said they were working with members across the board in regional consultations.
“The idea was to get feedback on how we can get better and how we can do more to get local branches active,” she said.
"The government has set down a really clear path, they’ve been stable and getting on with the job and that’s what Queensland wants, especially after the chaos of the Campbell Newman years.”