‘My political career may die,’ senator says after Michelle Landry announced she will not recontest her Queensland seat of Capricornia
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The Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, will run for a lower house Queensland seat at the next federal election but will avoid having to face off against a key One Nation figure.
Canavan confirmed his bid following the announcement that Capricornia MP Michelle Landry will retire, leading to speculation it could be a tight race with Pauline Hanson’s national director.
But in a statement, James Ashby said he would not run in the electorate, which encompasses Rockhampton.
“I’ll play a role in the campaign here in Capricornia but my position as national director is one that I take serious [sic],” he said. “Therefore I won’t be nominating at pre-selection.”
He said One Nation would have a candidate for the seat, however.
“Capricornia is a seat One Nation can win, so I intend to throw the resources and people behind a strong campaign,” Ashby said.
Speaking at a press conference, Canavan said someone needed to step up in central Queensland and that he would “put it on the line”.
“I’m happy to put my political future on the line to deliver that, to take our country back,” he told reporters on Monday.
“I might not be successful. My political career may die, but I’m not going to die wondering. We need a change in this country.”
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Earlier, Hanson, who sits in the Senate, ruled herself out of running for the seat.
“It’s still over a year out from the election, a year and a half, so I’m not making any decisions or giving any indication where I’m standing or where James Ashby, if James Ashby is going to stand,” she told reporters.
Canavan was previously tipped to make a bid for the House of Representatives amid warnings from pollsters the Nationals leader has a “0%” chance of holding on to his Senate spot if One Nation maintained its surge in opinion polls.
Last month, Canavan said he was prepared to do “whatever it takes” to hold Capricornia for his party.
Analysts consider regional Coalition seats in Queensland and NSW to be particularly vulnerable and up for grabs.
The electorate is more than 91,000 sq km in size and is held by the Liberal National party on a margin of 5.8%, considered safe.
The latest Guardian Essential poll of 1,087 Australians, conducted late October, found Labor and One Nation tied at 28% of the primary vote each.
The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, said he was very pleased Canavan was “throwing his hat in the ring” as a candidate for Capricornia.
“He’s putting it all on the line, we’re all putting it all in the line because we have to, because we need our country back,” he said.
The Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said One Nation should not be fighting to win Coalition-held seats if the party was serious about taking on Labor.
“If One Nation is really serious about firing the liar, then they need to start running in Labor party seats instead of running against someone like Matt Canavan,” she told Nine’s Today show.
