It's the marginal Queensland seat that loves to swing and is a crucial battleground for the federal election, with major and minor parties vying for votes from the retiree haven of Bribie Island to the mortgage belt of Caboolture, north of Brisbane.
The sprawling electorate of Longman has swung five times between the LNP and Labor since it was created in 1996.
Taking in the coastal community of Bribie Island, the commuter belt of Caboolture, Morayfield and Burpengary, and the rural hinterland of Samsonvale and Woodford — it's a must-hold for the Coalition and a must-win for Labor.
University of Queensland political scientist Dr Glenn Kefford said the key seat of Longman had been "quite volatile" in the past few election cycles.
"It's where you have many voters in the electorate who are dealing with many of the issues which have dominated the campaign, like cost of living.
"So you've got voters really in those mortgage belt areas, the outer metropolitan areas of a capital city, which often are very significant in determining the outcomes of federal elections."
Longman is held on a narrow 3.3 per cent margin by the LNP's Terry Young, who won the seat from Labor's Susan Lamb in 2019.
Preferences from the minor parties will critical for the LNP incumbent — a key player is One Nation, which received 13 per cent of the first preference vote at the last election.
Dr Kefford said the result was reflective of a diverse electorate dissatisfied with the major parties.
"The last time the major parties' combined primary vote was over 75 per cent was 2010," he said.
"But it points to the sort of the challenges that the major parties confront in a seat like this, they're really scrapping and struggling to increase their primary [vote] and even to hold ground on their primary [vote] in an electorate like Longman."
'Get their vote then nothing happens'
On Bribie Island, where life revolves around the beach, health care, aged care and the one-bridge access for the community are front of mind for locals.
Bribie Island Surf Life Saving Club treasurer Adrian Hervie, a retiree, said those were the key issues that would determine his vote at the polls.
"You seem to have Labor one term, then Liberal the next, then Labor will come back in and it is a seesaw," Mr Hervie said.
"It's probably not good for the area — you need a bit more stability.
"I don't hold a lot of confidence in government's either side, I don't know that they're all in it for the right reasons anymore.
"You often hear things promised, they get their vote and then nothing happens.
Battleground for major parties
Hoping to secure a second term and increase his margin is incumbent LNP MP Terry Young, who says he "doesn't take anything for granted".
A small retail business owner from Kallangur, Mr Young said cost-of-living pressures had hit his community hard but the federal government had introduced a range of support measures to ease the burden.
"The childcare rebates that we've introduced have been very, very well received as we have a lot of families in this community.
"For the seniors on Bribie Island, we've just lifted the threshold on the Senior's Card from $57,000 for singles to $90,000, and from $92,000 to $144,000 [for couples], so there's more senior Australians that are now able to get that card, which means cheaper medicine and cheaper medical care."
After losing the seat in 2019, the Labor Party has Caboolture local and health policy expert Rebecca Fanning running as their candidate.
Ms Fanning worked on the Palaszczuk government's health response to COVID-19, and has been campaigning hard on GP wait times and access to health services.
"My background is working in health policy so that means I really understand what a big impact it has when the federal government isn't properly investing in GPs and primary health care," Ms Fanning said.
"It's because we have a critical shortage of GPs throughout our region.
"To make matters worse, in October last year the urgent care clinic at the Morayfield Health Hub had to close because it wasn't getting enough funding from the Morrison government.
"That was huge loss for our community."
Ms Fanning said the Labor Party had committed to deliver more GPs for the region and would reopen the clinic at Morayfield.
'Going to offer them a conscience vote'
Ross Taylor is the One Nation candidate for Longman — he is an appliance service technician and business owner who moved to Caboolture with his wife in 2008.
He said voters want a change in government and he was committed to giving his electorate a voice in federal parliament.
"I'm going to offer them a conscience vote," Mr Taylor said.
"The number one thing I said to One Nation before I started was, 'can I cross that floor', whether it's their bill or a Labor bill or an LNP bill.
Mr Taylor said he decided to run as a candidate to help give his three children a better future.
"We seem to be selling a lot of our product and our land off to the highest bidder, and industry seems to be really dying off," he said.
"I keep looking at my kids and thinking what kind of future are we going to leave them by the time this government is done.
"We're going to have sold off everything we own — we need to protect our industries and our futures."
