LNP 7.8%
Incumbent MP
Rob Molhoek, since 2012.
Geography
Northern Gold Coast. Southport includes the suburbs of Arundel, Parkwood, Ernest, Molendinar, Southport and parts of Ashmore.
Redistribution
Southport shifted south, gaining Benowa and the remainder of Ashmore from Surfers Paradise, and losing Arundel and the remainder of Labrador to Bonney. These changes increased the LNP margin from 3.2% to 7.8%.
History
Southport has existed in its current form since the 1977 election. For most of that time the seat was held by the National Party, and then by Labor from 2001 to 2012, when it was won by the LNP.
The seat was first won in 1977 by Liberal candidate Peter White. He held the seat until resigning in 1980 to run for the 1981 by-election for the federal seat of McPherson. He held McPherson until his retirement in 1990.
Doug Jennings won Southport for the National Country Party in 1980. He had previously been the Liberal MP for the Victorian state seat of Westernport from 1976 to 1979, when he was expelled from his party and then lost his seat at the election. He held Southport until his death in 1987.
Mick Veivers won Southport for the National Party in 1987 after Jennings’ death. He served as a minister in the Borbidge coalition government from 1996 to 1998 and continued to hold his seat until his defeat in the landslide election of 2001.
The ALP’s Peter Lawlor won Southport in 2001 with a swing of almost 14% off the National Party. The former Gold Coast City alderman held the seat for four terms, and served as a minister from 2009 to 2011.
In 2012, Lawlor was defeated by LNP candidate Rob Molhoek. Molhoek was re-elected in 2015.
Candidates
- Michelle Le Plastrier (Greens)
- Rob Molhoek (Liberal National)
- Rick Flori (Independent)
- Johan Joubert (Civil Liberties, Consumer Rights, No-Tolls)
- Judy Searle (Labor)
Assessment
Southport is a safe LNP seat.
2015 election result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Rob Molhoek | Liberal National | 13,287 | 45.9 | -9.9 | 51.9 |
| Rowan Holzberger | Labor | 10,153 | 35.1 | +6.7 | 30.1 |
| Petrina Maizey | Greens | 2,446 | 8.5 | +1.8 | 7.9 |
| Nicole Stanton | Palmer United Party | 2,402 | 8.3 | +8.3 | 7.4 |
| Matthew Mackechnie | Independent | 646 | 2.2 | +0.6 | 1.2 |
| Family First | 1.3 | ||||
| Others | 0.1 | ||||
| Informal | 836 | 2.8 |
2015 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Rob Molhoek | Liberal National | 14,133 | 53.2 | -11.5 | 57.8 |
| Rowan Holzberger | Labor | 12,415 | 46.8 | +11.5 | 42.2 |
| Exhausted | 2,386 | 8.2 |
Booth breakdown
Booths in Southport have been divided into three areas: north, south and west.
The LNP won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in two out of three areas, polling 58% in the west and 66.7% in the south. Labor polled 54.7% in the north.
The Palmer United Party primary vote ranged from 7.3% in the south to 8.4% in the west, while the Greens primary vote ranged from 7.3% in the south to 9.2% in the north.
| Voter group | PUP prim % | GRN prim % | LNP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| West | 8.4 | 8.0 | 57.9 | 5,863 | 26.8 |
| South | 7.3 | 7.3 | 66.7 | 3,597 | 14.6 |
| North | 8.0 | 9.2 | 45.3 | 2,699 | 11.0 |
| Other votes | 6.9 | 7.8 | 62.1 | 12,399 | 50.5 |
Two-party-preferred votes in Southport at the 2015 QLD state election
Whistle blower Rick Flori is running as an Independent here against Molhoek. In the absence of a Labor candidate, he may be the LNP’s biggest challenger.
http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/gold-coast-whistleblower-and-wouldbe-politician-rick-flori-says-hes-fighting-for-transparency/news-story/a132a59f2ecc9f154cc75743fa979482
Labor have to nominate someone here surely? It’s a seat Labor have held in the past.
Yeah, I’m shocked Labor haven’t got someone in Southport yet! Same with Mudgeeraba!
Mermaid Beach and Broadwater are different as they’re safe as houses for the LNP.
Remember that these new boundaries are much safer for the LNP than the old Southport. Barring some 2001 type implosion, it is a reasonably safe LNP seat now.
I assume the ALP would be directing most of their effort into Bonney, which contains many of the better Labor areas in this part of the Gold Coast.
Labor candidate for Southport is Judy Searle.
http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/labor-announces-two-candidates-for-mustwin-gold-coast-seats-ahead-of-election/news-story/cb2e1d70b65c3f07cbcf4e58767f0a5d
no onp
LNP retain easy.