Kiernan, Johnson in the hot seat
THE voters across Western Queensland headed for the polls on Saturday, electing two very different candidates to represent the Gregory and Mount Isa electorates at a State level.
There were no shocked faces when it was revealed that current Member for Gregory and National Party member Vaughan Johnson would be once again at the helm of the electorate – notching up sixteen-and-a-half years as a member of Parliament – while it took a couple of days for first time Labor candidate Betty Kiernan to be comfortable with her victory at the booths.
"There is a risk that familiarity may breed contempt among my constituents," National Party member Mr Johnson said just days after winning the seat of Gregory.
"But I try to alleviate that by being in close contact with local authorities and by visiting the towns in the electorate.
"Most importantly you need to get out amongst the people to see and understand the issues that affect them."
For close to over a decade, Mr Johnson has been privy to the changing demographics of Western Queensland and burgeoning mining industry.
But while the electorate appears to have matured, Mr Johnson says it hasn’t been without its drawbacks.
"Probably the biggest change in the electorate has been the mining boom in Emerald.
"It’s been compared to the gold rush of the 1880s – everyone’s heading for the Central Highlands to claim their fair share.
"There is nothing wrong with earning a buck, but it has created a void of tradespeople in our communities, which is creating havoc.
"This is something that the government needs to address."
Over the next three years, Mr Johnson plans to increase the profile of Western Queensland, encouraging more people to share in "our great lifestyle".
"I want to see a full-scale promotion of this part of Queensland.
"Life is really great and I want to encourage more people to consider the towns of Western Queensland as great places to live and rear their families."
It was a busy day for both candidates, with Mr Johnson eventually arriving back home in Longreach at 7pm after a full day of travel in and around Emerald.
For Betty Kiernan it was a similar story, with celebrations kicking off after a congratulatory phone call from her predecessor Tony McGrady.
"Tony called me from the tally room in Brisbane, where the figures were coming through," Mrs Kiernan said.
"By around 7.30pm we knew we had won."
Mrs Kiernan admitted it did take a couple of days for the news of her victory to really sink in.
"Probably on the plane down from Mount Isa on Monday for the first round of meetings is when reality set in and I thought to myself ‘I am the new Member for Mount Isa’.
"The results surpassed my expectations.
"I wanted to do well for the Labor party and to certainly retain the seat, but when the results indicated that we actually made ground in Winton and other areas I was thrilled.
"It was an honour, and quite humbling, to receive that kind of support."
There were no shocked faces when it was revealed that current Member for Gregory and National Party member Vaughan Johnson would be once again at the helm of the electorate – notching up sixteen-and-a-half years as a member of Parliament – while it took a couple of days for first time Labor candidate Betty Kiernan to be comfortable with her victory at the booths.
"There is a risk that familiarity may breed contempt among my constituents," National Party member Mr Johnson said just days after winning the seat of Gregory.
"But I try to alleviate that by being in close contact with local authorities and by visiting the towns in the electorate.
"Most importantly you need to get out amongst the people to see and understand the issues that affect them."
For close to over a decade, Mr Johnson has been privy to the changing demographics of Western Queensland and burgeoning mining industry.
But while the electorate appears to have matured, Mr Johnson says it hasn’t been without its drawbacks.
"Probably the biggest change in the electorate has been the mining boom in Emerald.
"It’s been compared to the gold rush of the 1880s – everyone’s heading for the Central Highlands to claim their fair share.
"There is nothing wrong with earning a buck, but it has created a void of tradespeople in our communities, which is creating havoc.
"This is something that the government needs to address."
Over the next three years, Mr Johnson plans to increase the profile of Western Queensland, encouraging more people to share in "our great lifestyle".
"I want to see a full-scale promotion of this part of Queensland.
"Life is really great and I want to encourage more people to consider the towns of Western Queensland as great places to live and rear their families."
It was a busy day for both candidates, with Mr Johnson eventually arriving back home in Longreach at 7pm after a full day of travel in and around Emerald.
For Betty Kiernan it was a similar story, with celebrations kicking off after a congratulatory phone call from her predecessor Tony McGrady.
"Tony called me from the tally room in Brisbane, where the figures were coming through," Mrs Kiernan said.
"By around 7.30pm we knew we had won."
Mrs Kiernan admitted it did take a couple of days for the news of her victory to really sink in.
"Probably on the plane down from Mount Isa on Monday for the first round of meetings is when reality set in and I thought to myself ‘I am the new Member for Mount Isa’.
"The results surpassed my expectations.
"I wanted to do well for the Labor party and to certainly retain the seat, but when the results indicated that we actually made ground in Winton and other areas I was thrilled.
"It was an honour, and quite humbling, to receive that kind of support."
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