Just a few hours' drive north of Brisbane, the safe seat of Hinkler has become an unexpected election battleground with the injection of a rogue independent.
The electorate, named after the famous aviator and local hero Bert Hinkler, runs along Queensland's famous Fraser Coast and takes in the sugar city of Bundaberg and coastal centre of Hervey Bay.
It has been a stronghold of the Coalition since the early 1990s and is held by Resources Minister Keith Pitt by a comfortable margin of 14.5 per cent.
But with Bundaberg Mayor and former state LNP minister Jack Dempsey entering the fray as an independent, the seat's 117,000 registered voters suddenly feel their region is back in the ring.
Hervey Bay small business owner Doug Greenshields said he welcomed independents onto Hinkler's political landscape.
"The two major parties – they are dressed up in different colours, but they are just the same," he said.
"Especially if they're a new candidate because everyone wants to go in and change the world."
But he said they had to toe the party line once elected.
Battle for Hinkler
It is a sentiment being played up by Mr Dempsey, who has taken leave from his role as mayor, which he has held since March 2016 after nearly a decade in state politics.
"Hinkler has missed out for many years, because it's been a safe seat and taken for granted," Mr Dempsey said
"I want positive change."
While winning the seat will take a massive swing, Mr Dempsey will be hoping to split the vote with preference flows threatening to erode the safe margin.
Other candidates include Labor's Jason Scanes, United Australia Party's Kristie Nash, Zak Menhennett from Pauline Hanson's One Nation, and Queensland Greens' Andrew McLean.
The United Australia Party has been running a highly visible campaign and One Nation could also be in the mix with both minor parties traditionally polling well in Hinkler.
Mr Pitt, who has held the seat since 2013 and has been a member of Scott Morrison's cabinet since 2020, said he stood by his record, including federal funding of more than $100 million for the Bruce Highway in Hinkler and $172 million for the regional cities deal.
"Every three years I get a performance review, and I'll stand on my performance and delivery," he said.
Housing crisis hits Hinkler
Voters in Hinkler will deliver their verdict on May 21 and there may be diverse issues influencing their decision.
Like large parts of regional Australia, housing is top of mind.
Once considered an affordable place for retirees and families, many residents are now being priced out of the market.
The median house price in Bundaberg has increased from $286,851 to $406,315 since the 2019 federal election and in Hervey Bay it has risen from $385,114 to $586,445.
Bundaberg charity worker Sue Tasker said homelessness and access to affordable housing were on everyone's mind.
"We see the aftermath of people getting into a house for $400 or $500 a week – there's nothing left to live on or they can't get into a house at all because we know there are so many people going for one home at the moment."
Rental costs have soared and the vacancy rate is less than 1 per cent across the Hinkler region.
It has prompted the Angels Community Group to open a homeless support centre in Bundaberg.
Cost of living and healthcare woes
About a quarter of the Hinkler population is aged over 65 and many are feeling the stress of the rising cost of living.
Bundaberg pensioner Margaret Beimers said the cost of vegetables, meat and groceries was going up.
"And then proportionately, your pension is not going up," she said.
Hervey Bay doctor and Australian Medical Association representative Nick Yim said the cost of health had also increased.
"What we hear as doctors is the rising cost of healthcare and one of the big challenges that we face is the patients' Medicare rebate," Dr Yim said.
"It hasn't really gone up over the past five to 10 years – obviously health inflation has gone up by about 5 per cent, yet the patients' Medicare rebate has only increased by 0.5 per cent."
Retiree Lyn Tucker said she had been forced to downgrade her private healthcare because of the cost.
"I did shop around and I did get it taken down from an enormous amount of money to a smaller, much smaller amount by having what they call private healthcare in a public hospital," Mrs Tucker said.
The 'fruit bowl' capital of Australia
Well known for its popularity with retirees, those looking to run businesses in the region are also struggling.
Agriculture is one of the biggest employers and labour shortages have strangled some operations.
Bundaberg chilli grower David De Paoli said after long periods of fighting to find farm workers, producers had become pretty good at getting a labour force on the ground.
He said recruiting middle management had become a problem.
"They're far and few between," Mr De Paoli said.
He said it was difficult to attract people to move from capital cities.
Mr De Paoli suggested cutting payroll tax and developing export markets to help the industry grow.
Unemployment a major factor
Conversely, while some businesses struggle to find workers, the unemployment rate in the larger Wide Bay region remains stubbornly higher than the national number at 5.5 per cent.
"We desperately need to get our unemployment levels down," Fraser Coast Chamber of Commerce president Sandra Holebrooke said.
"Youth unemployment is unexpectedly high and it's traditionally high, so we've got to find new ways of sorting that out."
State government figures show the unemployment rate for 15 to 24-year-olds sits at 16.5 per cent on the Fraser Coast.
The high rate of youth unemployment was a factor in the region being added to the federal government's controversial cashless debit card trial in 2018.
Welfare recipients aged under 35 received 80 per cent of their welfare payment on a card, which restricted spending on alcohol, gambling and cash withdrawals.
The scheme was a source of controversy early in the campaign when Labor claimed it would be extended to pensioners.
The claim was firmly rejected by the Coalition, but could still be an issue in the Hinkler region according to feedback to the Angels Community Group.
The full impact of the scare campaign may be seen at the poll.
In the meantime, voters in Hinkler are welcoming the renewed interest in their seat.
"From my perspective the fact we're not quite a safe a seat as we were before, is actually ideal for huge change to happen," Ms Holebrooke said.
