January 23, 2014
Katter’s Australian Party parliamentary leader Ray Hopper says no decision has been made as yet whether he will challenge for the State seat of Nanango.
Speculation that Mr Hopper is eyeing off the seat has been mounting since an exchange in Parliament last August between Mr Hopper and current LNP Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington after an interjection.
Mr Hopper told Mrs Frecklington there were “a few surprises in store for her, believe you me”.
“Deb Frecklington was giving me a hard time in Parliament and I said something like, ‘You want to behave yourself, I have just bought a property at Kilcoy’,” Mr Hopper told southburnett.com.au yesterday.
But he said speculation about the seat was too early.
“Who knows what will happen?” he said.
He said KAP planned to select candidates for every seat in Queensland. This process would start in the next few months.
“No decision has been made yet,” he said.
The former National Party member has been representing the seat of Condamine since February 2001. He joined Katter’s Australian Party in November 2012.
According to his Parliamentary biography, he was born at Jandowae in 1960 and is married and has three children. He is a qualified butcher, licensed dogger, dairy farmer, first Officer of the Cooranga North Rural Fire Brigade and an announcer at the Bell Rodeo. His interests include rodeos, horse training, shooting, farming and family.
The next State Election is due in March next year.
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The LNP has opened nominations for candidates to stand for Condamine to “give locals the opportunity to get the representation they voted for in 2012, before their elected member went against their wishes and defected from the LNP”.
LNP nominations for the seat close next Friday (January 31).
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