Cleveland

Margin: Liberal National 18.1%
Region: Redlands Shire
Federal: Bowman

Candidates in ballot paper order

	TRACEY HUGES Labor (bottom) AMANDA WHITE Greens MARK ROBINSON Liberal National (top)

Cleveland is a bayside electorate in south-eastern Brisbane that was held by Labor from its creation in 1992 until the 2009 election, when it was one of eight seats to fall to the newly merged Liberal National Party. The electorate extends from Birkdale through Wellington Point and Cleveland to Thornlands and across the bay to Stradbroke Island.

The seat’s inaugural member was Darryl Briskey, who had won the seat of Redlands for Labor when Wayne Goss came to power in 1989. Briskey retired at the 2006 election and was succeeded by local police officer Phil Weightman, who narrowly retained the seat for Labor in the face of an 8.1% swing. There was a further swing to the LNP at the 2009 election of 1.5%, which although slight by the standards of that election was sufficient to deliver it to LNP candidate Mark Robinson, a reverend at the Bible College of Queensland.

Robinson won promotion to shadow parliamentary secretary in November 2010, and then to shadow cabinet in the main roads, fisheries and marine infrastructure portfolios when Campbell Newman became extra-parliamentary leader in April 2011. However, he was overlooked for a front bench position when the government came to power, instead taking on the role of Deputy Speaker.

Corrections, complaints and feedback to William Bowe at pollbludger-at-bigpond-dot-com. Read William’s blog, The Poll Bludger.

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