Six people have nominated to contest the state seat of Callide at the June 18 by-election, vacated by Colin Boyce who successfully contested the seat of Flynn in the recent federal election.
Bryson Head, a grazing advocate and geologist from Chinchilla, won LNP preselection in February and has been on the campaign trail at many of the recent agricultural shows in the region.
He has been joined by two people who are no stranger to the electorate, Pauline Hanson's One Nation candidate Sharon Lohse and Adam Burling, representing Katter's Australian Party.
Ms Lohse contested Callide at the 2017 state election and was PHON's candidate for Flynn in the 2019 and 2022 federal elections, while Mr Burling placed third at the 2020 state election behind Mr Boyce and the ALP when he stood as an independent candidate.
Mr Burling, a coalminer from Biloela, tried to stand for KAP in the 2020 election but there were difficulties with his registration.
When nominations closed at noon on Tuesday, Biloela social worker Bronwyn Dendle was listed as the ALP's candidate, while the Animal Justice Party will field Paula Gilbard, and Legalise Cannabis Qld has Fabrice Jarry as its representative.
Mr Head, 26, is a former affiliate of the Green Shirts Movement and has made no secret of the fact that he opposes state ALP regulations on vegetation management and reef regulations.
In the past few weeks he has been joined on the campaign trail by LNP leader David Crisafulli, emphasising the scale of ambulance ramping taking place in central Queensland.
"It's not OK for a mother from Biloela to break her hip and wait hours for an ambulance," he told a media conference this week. "I'm here to fight for a better healthcare system."
Ms Dendle was born and raised in Monto and has over 20 years front-line experience supporting rural communities in central Queensland, working for CQ Rural Health and working in health, mental health, disability and community sectors.
Announcing her candidacy, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had a strong social justice framework, serving as a board director on several rural community organisations.
"As the co-founder of the Home to Bilo campaign, Ms Dendle has proven she will stand up for rural Queenslanders to the highest level of government," she said.
KAP candidate Adam Burling, who was born in Longreach, is a coal miner and served for six years in the Australian Army Reserve, and said he was committed to making Callide a stronger community.
"Callide is a rural and regional electorate and, by default, we have to always fight for our fair share from Brisbane and Canberra," he said.
"I, like a lot of people these days, am not confident that the two major parties are able to genuinely represent communities like ours - time and time again they have proven they are willing to throw the regions out to sea on net-zero and reef regulations to shore up their green credentials."
Mr Burling identifies a lack of action on key local concerns such as jobs, water storage, health, housing, roads and local council funding as other areas he will be strongly advocating for in Callide if elected.
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Sharon Lohse said that as a grazier with 30 years in the area she believed an alternative to the "worn-out rhetoric that brings no positive change" was needed.
The electorate extends from Calliope in the north to Chinchilla in the south and takes in the Banana Shire, and parts of Western Downs, North Burnett, Bundaberg, and Gladstone Regional Councils, with agriculture, grazing, four major coal mines, and a number of coal seam gas projects as major industries, and is home to two baseload coal-fired power stations.
Ms Lohse said she wholeheartedly supported those industries and said the march toward net zero would wreak a "devastating toll" on Callide.
"Already we are seeing land being locked up for carbon sequestration rather than being productive, there is a relentless campaign against our cattle industry coming from a call to curb our cattle numbers to reduce methane production and even from the Australian curriculum promoting the virtues of a vegetarian diet," she said.
"As part of a long-standing grazing family in Callide, having raised and home-schooled three children, I understand how important services such as health, internet connectivity and road and rail infrastructure are."
The LNP holds the seat with a margin of 15.8 per cent.
The by-election will be held on June 18.
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Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
