News
13 May, 2025
Petrie shines red as Longman stays stuck
The Petrie electorate has joined Dickson in replacing their long-term LNP-held seat with a new female Labor candidate: Emma Comer.
Former LNP Member for Petrie, Luke Howarth, conceded his 12-year seat to Ms Comer on Monday, May 12. With Ms Comer’s win, two of the three federal seats in Moreton Bay—Petrie and Dickson—have been gained by Labor.
The third electorate, Longman, remains in deadlock over a week after the federal elections, with 85 per cent of votes counted. LNP candidate Terry Young and Labor candidate Rhiannyn Douglas are locked in a near 50/50 race, with Terry Young holding a narrow lead of just over 160 votes as of May 13. Mr Young has 50.07 per cent of the vote, while Ms Douglas sits at 49.93 per cent.
While Mr Young leads, the votes for Ms Douglas reflect a 3 per cent swing towards Labor from the previous election.
Ms Comer celebrated her win with 50.9 per cent of the vote, a margin of more than 2,200 votes, indicating a 5.4 per cent swing towards Labor in Petrie.
She publicly thanked Mr Howarth for his 12 years of service and said she was “honoured” to have received the call.
Speaking to The Sentinel, Ms Comer said the trust given to her by the community is something she will nurture and never take for granted.
“Trust to me is a sacred thing,” she said.
“As I have been given this trust, I will do everything in my capacity as member to build on that trust and to honour it by showing up and speaking up.
“I know that not everyone voted for me. To those people I will say—I will work tirelessly to earn your trust, to demonstrate that I love my community and will fight for its betterment, every day.
“I do not like division in our community, and I understand that at the end of the day, most people have similar hopes, dreams, fears and wants, and I am focused on finding that commonality, through open discussions and working together.”
Ms Comer attributed the swing towards Labor to several factors.
“I have found in Petrie people were looking for a breath of fresh air, someone new to represent them,” she said.
“They were fearful of the Americanisation of our healthcare system, which was at risk with a Dutton government, and the people of Petrie are well aware that the incumbent Mr Howarth was an appreciator of those foreign styles of governance.
“People also could not support Dutton as the leader, and were worried what his divisive style of politics would mean for them, and certainly as they weren’t sure on any of the LNP’s policies.”
One of Ms Comer’s first priorities is to establish a Medicare Mental Health Clinic in the electorate. The clinic will be walk-in, with no mental health care referral required.
She also plans to meet with community groups and leaders “to establish healthy lines of communication.”
“I will have my ear to the ground on matters impacting my community,” she said.
“As many in the community have heard me say, I can come in with a million great ideas, but unless I communicate effectively with community groups and members, and learn more first-hand, I will not be using my position as efficiently as I could.”
Ms Comer joined newly elected Member for Dickson, Ali France, and re-elected Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann, in Canberra on the weekend, where they signed the caucus book alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
