Wednesday 12 October 2011

Media identities Kerie Hull, Damon Guppy join Gavin King campaign

The selection of Gavin King as the LNP candidate for the upcoming Queensland State election, has resulted in the dumping of all Paul Freebody's former campaign team.


Senior Cairns Post journalist and Chief of Staff, Damon Guppy, has put his hand up to help run King's LNP bid for the State seat of Cairns. He resigns his Post role in the next week.

Guppy has been with the Post for ten years, covering political and police reporting. He became their chief reporter and chief of staff. Guppy's departure from the Post will leave a void of institutional knowledge and vast experience.

Also joining King's campaign team is former Cairns Regional Council media chief, Kerie Hull, who will head the media team. Hull was sacked two years ago from her $130,000 a year job for "gross misconduct", after she was embroiled in secret deal with Radio 4CA that Mayor Val Schier was unaware of. The saga involved a $17,000 report that Council commissioned Jim Henry SC to investigate. It also led to the resignation of CEO Noel Briggs.

Commercial property salesman and former member of The Nationals, now with the LNP, Martin Lee, will also join King's campaign team. Lee, who is also a director of the Cairns Regional Gallery, has helped on former Cairns Mayor Kevin Bryne's political team.

The seat of Cairns is a crucial one for either party and acts as a litmus test for an election. Labor has infamously held the seat continually for 100 years, however with strong opposition to the State government and record low polling, it's likely that they will lose Cairns in the predicted March poll. Some are still suggesting the State election will be called early.

The selection of Kirsten Lesina some months ago by Labor, that was supported by Premier Bligh, showed that keeping Rail union activist and sporting identity Richie Bates from the selection primarily due to his opposition of the asset sales, was more important to sitting Labor MP Desley Boyle, than winning the safe seat of Cairns.

Former policeman Darren "DJ" Hunt, formerly of the Queensland Party, now representing Katter's Australian Party, along with Cairns teacher Steve Brech of The Greens, will also contest the Cairns seat.

It is likely Family First will also field a candidate, as well as at least one independent.

6 comments:

D.J.HUNT said...

Hmmm. Explains a lot.

KitchenSlut said...

Oh dear! Not kerry Hull again? Every mejia person in town with any integrity knows she was the one leaking like an incontinent bladder to the Cairns Post.

Terry Vance said...

"Labor has infamously held the seat continually for 100 years."
I wonder just who come up with that corruption of Cairns history? I guess it is all too easy to parrot back something a mexican says without, you know, bothering to check the Queensland Parliamentary Handbook or chat with long time locals. The fact is since the seat of Cairns was created back in the 19th century, there have been three non-Labor representatives. LYONS STREET which crosses Mulgrave Road at Westcourt was named for JIM LYONS, a Ministerialist or Conservative Member for Cairns 1902 to 1904. Louis (Joe) Barnes was an Independent Member during the War Years 1942 to 1947. Relatives of Joe Barnes still live in the Cairns area.
(My Aunt passed this information on to me to post here.)

Bryan Law said...

errr Terry 1902-04 was errr MORE than 100 years ago. But you're right the ALP has only held Cairns for ninety something years over the last century.

So when Kirsten Lesina loses it for Labor this time, it won't be notable at all, will it.

Mate, is this piffle the very best you can do?

Terry Vance said...

Bryan, I was correcting the statement..."Labor has infamously held the seat continually for 100 years.."
I was told you would quickly latch onto the term of Jim Lyons (1902-1904) and sneeringly point out this was over 100 years ago, as if I didn't know. However, as I mentioned above, an Independent served during the war years between 1942 and 1947.
The statement "Labor has infamously held the seat continually for 100 years" is infamously wrong!

KitchenSlut said...

By the way, it's good to see that Damon Guppy has joined the team. My previous experience with Damon was when he contacted me a few years ago after I provided info to the Cairns Post on a rat plague on the Cairns Esplanade.

Deputy Mayor at the time Margy (fuck me i know nothing) Gill claimed she knew nuffink of the third world rat plague despite living directly opposite!

Go Damon!