The LNP has announced businesswoman Marnie Smith as its candidate for Traeger in the October 31 state election.
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Ms Smith who grew up in Port Douglas and ran a pub in Forsayth said she was proud to call herself a "bushie".
"That's what I am and I'm bloody proud of it," Ms Smith said.
Marnie said she knew what the voters in Traeger wanted in their elected representatives.
"Not only do I know what they want; I also know what they don't want - and that's a politician who keeps saying 'I'll look into it' and then does nothing," she said.
"People of the bush are sick of the same old stories and want answers. With me, what you see is what you get and that means passion and hard work."
Ms Smith said she was determined to speak up for people living in the bush.
RELATED NEWS: Early voting starts Oct 18 in Traeger
"I've been a publican in Forsayth, banana farmer in Tully, also a wife and mother of 3 so I can readily identify with the needs of country people," she said.
"While my husband, Geoff, and I were running the Goldfields Hotel, we'd always hear from the customers out there about a lack of support coming from the south-east corner. As we all know the north-west contributes so much to the coffers of the State Government, but that money it does not seem to appear in our rural and remote areas."
Ms Smith said city people didn't seem to understand how tough it can be scratching out a living in the bush, particularly during periods of extended drought and ever-increasing costs.
"I want to take those frustrations to Brisbane and come back with solutions based on what the voters of Traeger expect of me," she said.
Marnie is following in her father John Smith's footsteps.
Mr Smith spent 28 years on the Etheridge Shire Council, most of that time as Mayor while Marnie's mother, Grace managed the Goldfields Hotel.
Marnie, 51, and her husband Geoff operate a pest control business serving customers throughout the vast Traeger electorate.
She will be taking leave from her role as Diary Manager in the office of Queensland LNP Senator Susan McDonald to contest the election.
She joins Robbie Katter, the ALP's James Bambrick and independent Craig Scriven on the ballot.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
