 |
| Bundamba MP Jo-Ann Miller. |
BUNDAMBA MP Jo-Ann Miller could well be in seventh heaven early tonight if the pundits and bookies are right.
Sportsbet yesterday had Ms Miller at the short odds of $1.01 to win her seat for the seventh time, with her main rival, the LNP's Stephen Fenton, listed at $12.
Mr Fenton has been a minor player in this election campaign, a rather extraordinary development considering Ms Miller holds the seat on a margin of just 1.8%.
A letter to the editor in today's QT by Betty Bork of Dinmore summed up the situation when she said "information to our letterboxes has only come from Jo-Ann Miller".
Ms Bork had some questions for the other candidates: "What is your name?
"How can I consider you when you haven't put any effort into giving Jo-Ann a run for her money?"
For the record, the other candidates are Ava Greenwood (Greens) and Luke Harris (Family First).
The LNP appears to have conceded that Ms Miller is unbeatable.
Ms Miller is a formidable opponent no doubt, but the LNP did not endorse their candidate until a day before the cut-off for entries with the Electoral Commission Queensland.
Election analyst Cr Paul Tully said Ms Miller's vote would return to the status quo after the aberration of the 22.4% swing against her in the 2012 election.
"I think she will poll over 70% on a two-party preferred basis and it will become one of Labor's safest seats in Queensland," Cr Tully said.
"If you look at her vote in 2009, it was 71%, two-party preferred. In 2006 it was 74% .In 2004 it was 74%."
Ms Miller entered parliament when she won a Bundamba by-election in 2000 where she polled 71% of the vote.
A year later, she was also dominant with 80.9%.
Griffith University political analyst Dr Paul Williams said Ms Miller was "a survivor", and would no doubt wear as "a badge of honour" her survival, with just seven Labor MPs, the purge of 2012.
"She is the coalminer's daughter who won her by-election the same day Mike Kaiser, the boilermaker's son, won in Woodridge," Mr Williams said.
