Speculation is mounting that Nationals leader Matt Canavan will swoop into Michelle Landry’s Queensland lower house seat rather than face a showdown with a surging One Nation for his Senate spot.
Senator Canavan downplayed the talk as he joined Capricornia MP Ms Landry as she formally announced her retirement on Rockhampton on Friday.
When asked about a possible preselection bid, Senator Canavan remained tight-lipped, saying “there’s plenty of time for the LNP to work this out as a party,” he said.
“We also, of course, unlike some other parties, we respect our members. So ultimately, it is a decision of our membership, who they want to represent them at the next election.”
Mr Canavan holds the second spot on the Coalition’s state Senate ticket, behind Liberal James McGrath, meaning he risks losing his seat if One Nation does well in the upper house at the 2028 election.
The Queensland senator, who lives in Yeppoon, rose to the top job in March after David Littleproud stepped down.
Farewelling Ms Landry, Senator Canavan credited her “hard work and delivery” over her more than a decade in Federal Parliament.
The junior Coalition leader said Ms Landry’s previous wins in the seat weren’t just good luck — likening her to boxer “Mike Tyson” fighting for her region while in Canberra.
“She’s been a super woman of delivery for Central Queensland. This is someone who gets things done. That is the template for every local member,” he said.
“You’ll be a loss, you’ll leave huge shoes to fill here in Central Queensland. We’ll be sad when you finally hang up that cape as the super woman that you are.”
Ms Landry said she hadn’t been pressured by Senator Canavan or anyone in the Coalition and certainly hadn’t been influenced by One Nation’s ambition to gain her seat.
“Pauline says she’s going to move up here. I think people like locals from the area. When I look at people that move into an area to run for a political position — it doesn’t usually end well,” she warned One Nation.
She also took the opportunity to condemn One Nation’s controversial “Please Explain” satire cartoon series — labelling it an “obnoxious little video”.
“I’ve been the brunt of some of their jokes with that. I think that they need to have a bit of a look at things. We all have to lower the temperature because people causing trouble and doing obnoxious little video doesn’t help. I worry about the future,” Ms Landry said.
While her departure would give Senator Canavan an opportunity to seek LNP preselection for the electorate ahead of the election due in 2028, Senator Canavan didn’t formally declare his tilt on Friday.
Earlier this month, he indicated he would consider moving to the lower house during an interview on News24.
Conceding that the next election could be his “last” given the political challenge ahead with surging One Nation support, Senator Canavan said he would contest a House of Representatives seat “if it is required” to protect his party’s representation.
“I’ll do whatever it takes … We’ve got a great local member there in Capricornia, Michelle Landry. I’d love to see her continue,” he said at the time.
“But if I’m required, if it is required to keep a seat, to hold one more seat in the lower house somewhere, I will do it. I’ll do what I need to do to save this country.”
One Nation — previously considered a minor party — is surging drastically in the polls and could conceivably outpoll the LNP, relegating them to one Senate seat in the Sunshine State.
Pauline Hanson’s party announced it would open a branch in Yeppoon late last year to “help shape the future of One Nation in the region”, its website reads.
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