Matt Canavan risks political career for lower house tilt
Updated . First published
Nationals Leader Matt Canavan has finally confirmed he will run for the central Queensland seat of Capricornia at the next election, but One Nation’s Pauline Hanson and James Ashby have ruled out doing the same.
Canavan told The Courier Mail that it was important to keep the electorate in the Coalition’s hands following current LNP MP Michelle Landry’s decision not to recontest her seat.
Nationals leader Senator Matt Canavan will resign from the Senate to run for the upper house seat of Capricornia. Alex Ellinghausen
“I don’t think you’ll be surprised by this announcement but I’m not going to die wondering,” he said on Monday.
“I may very well die politically, but I’m not going to die wondering. I’ll give it my all.”
Canavan is right – the move has not surprised reporters who have long speculated that the Senator was hoping to try his hand for the House of Representatives in Capricornia.
He would have to resign from the Senate after 13 years in the role to officially to do so at the 2028 election.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said he looked forward to seeing his junior coalition leader in the lower house.
“I think it’s a huge vote of confidence in our parties, in our coalition, that Matt has decided that he wants to run in the lower house,” he told reporters.
“He’s putting it all on the line. We’re all putting it all on the line because we have to. Because we need our country back.”
Hanson and Ashby were speculated to be considering a similar move to the lower house following strong polling figures and the recent opening of a One Nation branch in Capricornia.
But they both ruled that out on Monday, saying they will not contest the seat.
In a statement, Ashby said there are “a number of very worthy contenders here in Capricornia” who he will encourage to nominate themselves for the party ticket.
“I’ll play a role in the campaign here in Capricornia, but my position as national director is one that I take serious; therefore I won’t be nominating at pre-selection,” he said.
“Capricornia is a seat One Nation can win, so I intend to throw the resources and people behind a strong campaign.”
Capricornia is still shaping up to be a key battleground that could confirm One Nation’s popularity and a shift in Australian politics as the far-right party threatens to wipe out the Nationals at the ballot box.
The electorate captures a little more than 90,000 square kilometres of the central Queensland mining and agricultural district stretching from Rockhampton to Yeppoon.
Matt Canavan and Pauline Hanson in the Senate in 2019. Alex Ellinghausen
The seat has been held by Labor for most of its history and only left the fold twice for single elections in 1966 and 1996.
Landry became the third to win it in 2013, but defied past trends by maintaining the seat ever since.
She told reporters in October it was the right time for her to retire from politics and not recontest the seat.
“At some stage you’ve got to take care of yourself and I thought, ‘Now’s the time to do it’,” she said at the time.
“I certainly wasn’t pushed out by anyone.”
Landry took a parting shot at One Nation and warned voters against Hanson if she tried her hand at running for Capricornia.
“I’ve had a lot of dealings with One Nation over the years, and I can tell you, most of it hasn’t been very pleasant,” she said.
“When I look at people that move into an area to run for a political position, it doesn’t usually end well.”
Hanson was born in Brisbane and was elected to the Senate for Queensland in 2016.
She had a stint in the House of Representatives for the Brisbane seat of Oxley in 1996 but was defeated at the general election just two years later.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
