King of spin wins again

Gavin King wins LNP preselection

Daniel Strudwick

Monday, October 3, 2011

© The Cairns Post

The Cairns Post journalist Gavin King will contest the seat of Cairns at the next state election after winning pre-selection for the Liberal National Party yesterday.

Mr King, 32, resigned from his post as the newspaper’s editor-at-large last month when he announced his tilt for the long-held Labor seat.A meeting of LNP members and state executives yesterday voted to pre-select Mr King over local marine identity Kim Anderson.

Mr King told the meeting he thought Cairns had "lost its voice under the Labor Government" and that he wanted to be the candidate who helped get it back."That’s the big theme of what I want to do and achieve in Cairns," he said. "We need to tackle a whole range of issues that have been neglected too long."

He named dredging Trinity Inlet, revitalising the Cairns CBD, taking pressure off Cairns Base Hospital and growing trade links with Papua New Guinea as the priorities of his campaign platform.

Mr King will contest the seat against Cairns Regional councillor, Kirsten Lesina, who is the ALP candidate, and former policeman Darren Hunt, who left the Queensland Party to run for Katter’s Australian Party.

Last week’s Newspoll revealed support for the LNP was almost double that of the ALP.

According to the poll, which relates to the period between July and September, LNP leader Campbell Newman is the state’s preferred premier.

"Polls are one thing, but talking to people on the street as I have always done as part of my job, you get a feel for what’s happening," Mr King said."And people are angry. People in Cairns, in particular, are ready for change."

Mr King, who finishes at The Cairns Post this week, said he would rely on "freelance jobs and a number of income streams" until the election is held

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