Seat Watch - Brisbane

The most marginal seat in the country held by the ALP is Brisbane, centring on the city of, um, Brisbane by a margin of 1%. The sitting member is Arch Bevis, who has the remarkable achievement of being a member of parliament for 14 years but having almost no name recognition beyond members of his own family and Labor apparatchiks. In the past, the seat has been a strong one for the ALP, with healthy margins up until the 1996 landslide. Still, Bevis has done well to keep the seat in ALP hands, and the redistribution has shaved several percent off the 2001 result.

The Liberal candidate is former Queensland AMA head-honcho Ingrid Tall. The Liberal Party website tells us nothing about Ingrid, but a Google search is quite useful. One link that seemed worthy of note was from the Sydney Star Observer, a Sydney GLBTI magazine:

Openly lesbian, former Queensland AMA president Ingrid Tall has shocked colleagues by becoming a Liberal party candidate.

Hmmmm, the plot thickens a little. Demographically, Brisbane has a high gay and lesbian population, and are likely to be inclined toward electing one of their own. Whether they'd be prepared to cross the Rubicon (or should that be the Brisbane?) is the vital question. Certainly, Tall is likely to outdo Bevis in terms of a personal vote and a high profile.

Ultimately, however, the seat is likely to be caught up in the nationwide swing to the ALP, and Bevis will hold on. Still, Tall sounds like the kind of talent the Libs should be welcoming to their parliamentary team.