Key Qld seats under the microscope

DICKSON

Former wannabe-prime minister Peter Dutton has kept largely out of the public eye throughout the campaign despite a risk his political career could be over on May 18. The Liberal incumbent's pitch to voters got off to a rocky start when he made a pointed remark about Labor candidate Ali France's disability. He skipped the official ballot draw, and in the final days of the campaign re-launched the Coalition's immigration policy in Townsville, more than 1000 km from his seat.

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CAPRICORNIA

Adani's plan to dig a coal mine in central Queensland has been the cause of some turbulence in the campaign, but nowhere more so than it has locally. The Liberal National Party's Michelle Landry holds the electorate with a 0.6 per cent margin, and has campaigned hard on jobs the project could bring to a region crying out for more work. She will preference One Nation above Labor, whose candidate, Russell Robertson, is a third generation miner running on a platform of job security. But both are up against a host of minor party candidates in a tight race.

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HERBERT

Labor's Cathy O'Toole is clinging to the Townsville-based seat with just 37 votes. She is up against a former infantry soldier who will garner votes from the city's military base for his stance on veterans, defence and national security. One Nation is preferencing the LNP's Phillip Thompson ahead of Labor, and he is well placed to win the seat with preferences from other minor parties.