LABOR is pinning its hopes of winning critical Coalition seats in
regional Queensland on a preference deal with Bob Katter's party rather
than with the Greens.
The gamble will cost the ALP support from the Greens in crucial seats elsewhere in the state, including in Brisbane, the most marginal Coalition seat in Queensland.
Elsewhere around the country, Labor will give the Greens its Senate preferences in return for the minor party putting Labor ahead of the Coalition in all but a handful of crucial seats.
The Greens will also preference Labor ahead of the Coalition in the Senate in what it says is a bid to prevent Opposition Leader Tony Abbott winning control of both houses.
In Queensland, Labor did a deal with Mr Katter in which the ALP would direct its Queensland Senate preferences towards Katter's Australian Party. In return, the KAP will put Labor first on its how-to-vote cards in the Coalition-held seats of Hinkler, Herbert and Flynn. It will also preference the ALP in Capricornia, where the incumbent Labor MP, Kirsten Livermore, is retiring.
One senior Labor source said the deal with the KAP in Queensland has "severely strained relations" between Labor and the Greens.
The Greens retaliated in Queensland by declining to preference Labor in the marginal Coalition seat of Brisbane, a must-win for the ALP if it is to have any chance of victory on September 7.
A JWS Research poll published in The Australian Financial Review on Saturday shows the Liberal MP for Brisbane, Teresa Gambaro, had a 4.1 percentage point two-party preferred lead over Labor rival Fiona McNamara.
Similarly, the Greens decided to issue a two-sided ticket in the Queensland seat of Longman, another marginal Coalition seat in Labor's sights.
The Greens will, however, preference Labor in the Coalition seat of Forde, where former Queensland premier Peter Beattie is seeking to unseat Liberal MP Bert van Manen.
The JWS poll shows Mr van Manen holding a commanding lead.
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The gamble will cost the ALP support from the Greens in crucial seats elsewhere in the state, including in Brisbane, the most marginal Coalition seat in Queensland.
Elsewhere around the country, Labor will give the Greens its Senate preferences in return for the minor party putting Labor ahead of the Coalition in all but a handful of crucial seats.
The Greens will also preference Labor ahead of the Coalition in the Senate in what it says is a bid to prevent Opposition Leader Tony Abbott winning control of both houses.
In Queensland, Labor did a deal with Mr Katter in which the ALP would direct its Queensland Senate preferences towards Katter's Australian Party. In return, the KAP will put Labor first on its how-to-vote cards in the Coalition-held seats of Hinkler, Herbert and Flynn. It will also preference the ALP in Capricornia, where the incumbent Labor MP, Kirsten Livermore, is retiring.
One senior Labor source said the deal with the KAP in Queensland has "severely strained relations" between Labor and the Greens.
The Greens retaliated in Queensland by declining to preference Labor in the marginal Coalition seat of Brisbane, a must-win for the ALP if it is to have any chance of victory on September 7.
A JWS Research poll published in The Australian Financial Review on Saturday shows the Liberal MP for Brisbane, Teresa Gambaro, had a 4.1 percentage point two-party preferred lead over Labor rival Fiona McNamara.
Similarly, the Greens decided to issue a two-sided ticket in the Queensland seat of Longman, another marginal Coalition seat in Labor's sights.
The Greens will, however, preference Labor in the Coalition seat of Forde, where former Queensland premier Peter Beattie is seeking to unseat Liberal MP Bert van Manen.
The JWS poll shows Mr van Manen holding a commanding lead.
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