Qld; Floods close booths, but polling day mostly incident free

AAP General News (Australia)
02-17-2001
Qld; Floods close booths, but polling day mostly incident free

BRISBANE, Feb 17 AAP - Heavy rain and flooding closed two polling booths in Queensland's
far north today but fine weather in most of the state helped boost the turnout for a largely
incident-free state election, electoral commissioner Des O'Shea said.

"It's one of the quietest elections we've ever had," he said.

Mr O'shea also said that the returning officer in the north Queensland electorate of
Hinchinbrook decided that flash flooding made it too hazardous for voters at the Lucinda
and Halifax polling booths and that they would open for voting next weekend, weather permitting.

The Bureau of Meteorology reported that 177 mm of rain fell at nearby Ingham in the
24 hours to 9am today, with flooding in the Herbert and Tully Rivers.

Flooding associated with tropical cyclone Wylva, which formed in the Gulf of Carpentaria
yesterday, had been expected to prevent the opening of some polling booths in the Gulf
country.

But the cyclone weakened to a rain depression as it moved south-west into the Northern
Territory overnight and no other booth closures have been reported.

In Brisbane early showers failed to dampen the spirits of Premier Peter Beattie, who
arrived at an inner suburban polling booth to be greeted by his wife Heather and a large
continent of media.

Striving to remain cautious and project an image of the underdog, Mr Beattie said he
was still worried that the result of today's election would be too close to call.

"I'm always worried about these things," Mr Beattie told reporters outside the polling
booth at the New Farm State School.

"I remember the Goss Gloss produced a loss in 1995/96 and we can do the same thing," he said.

He was referring to the 1995 election and Mundingburra by-election of February 3 1996,
which led to the defeat of the government of former premier Wayne Goss and the Coalition
coming to power later that month.

"I never take anything for granted," he said.

Opposition leader Rob Borbidge voted at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, Liberal Leader
David Watson at Indooroopilly in Brisbane's western suburbs and Pauline Hanson at Gatton,
west of Brisbane.

Few incidents were reported at polling booths today, except for a demonstration by
a handful of subcontractors outside a booth in the south-eastern Brisbane seat of Capalaba,
being contesting for the ALP by builder Michael Choi.

The placard-wielding subcontractors were alleging that Mr Choi had not paid money owed to them.

The Liberal Party's state director also attacked the Labor-controlled Brisbane City
Council for allegedly allowing Labor Party workers to use excessive amounts of plastic
bunting outside polling booths.

Queensland Liberals' state director Graham Jaeschke (Jaeschke) told AAP the bunting
stretched as far as 20 metres each side of the booths, leaving no room for other parties
to put their signs up.

"We are absolutely ropeable," he said.

"There's one rule for the Labor Party and another rule for everyone else."

Mr Jaeschke said the Brisbane City Council signage policy allowed only four signs per
party at each polling booth and the bunting clearly contravened this.

But ALP state secretary Cameron Milner said Mr Jaeschke had been reading the street
stall section and not the polling booth section of the council's signage policy, a copy
of which had been sent to all political parties this week.

"We've complied fully," Mr Cameron said.

AAP rad/cjh/br

KEYWORD: POLLQLD NIGHTLEAD

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