ALP 8.6%
Incumbent MP
Barry O’Rourke, since 2017.
Geography
Central Queensland. Rockhampton covers most of the suburbs of Rockhampton, including all of the city south of the Fitzroy River.
The seat of Rockhampton was first created in 1865, and existed until its abolition in 1960. The seat was restored in 1972. The seat has been held by the ALP since 1912, with the exception of two periods when the sitting Labor MP broke away from the party.
The restored seat was won in 1972 by the ALP’s Keith Wright. He was elected leader of the ALP in 1982. In 1984 he left the Legislative Assembly to take the federal seat of Capricornia. In 1993 he lost his preselection for Capricornia after being charged with child sex offences and rape, and lost his seat at that year’s election.
Paul Braddy won Rockhampton in 1985. He served as a minister in the Beattie and Bligh governments. In 1995 he moved to the seat of Kedron. He retired in 2001 when the seat of Kedron was abolished.
Robert Schwarten won the seat of Rockhampton in 1995. He had held the seat of Rockhampton North from 1989 until 1992, when his seat was abolished and he contested the new seat of Keppel. He lost to the National Party candidate.
Schwarten served as a minister in the Beattie and Bligh governments from 1998 to 2011, and stepped down from the ministry in February 2011.
In 2012, Schwarten retired and was succeeded by Labor’s Bill Byrne. Byrne was re-elected in 2015.
Byrne retired in 2017, and Labor preselection was won by Barry O’Rourke, defeating Rockhampton mayor Margaret Strelow. Strelow went on to run as an independent. She came second on primary votes, but O’Rourke retained the seat for Labor. O’Rourke was re-elected more easily in 2020.
Candidates
Labor MP Barry O’Rourke is not running for re-election.
- Donna Kirkland (Liberal National)
- Fredy Johnson (Family First)
- Margaret Strelow (Independent)
- Mick Jones (Greens)
- Craig Marshall (Labor)
- Jacinta Waller (Legalise Cannabis)
- David Bond (One Nation)
Assessment
Rockhampton is a reasonably safe Labor seat.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Barry O’Rourke | Labor | 13,289 | 44.3 | +12.6 |
| Tony Hopkins | Liberal National | 7,118 | 23.7 | +5.9 |
| Torin Obrien | One Nation | 3,714 | 12.4 | -9.0 |
| Dominic Doblo | Independent | 2,042 | 6.8 | +6.8 |
| Laura Barnard | Legalise Cannabis | 1,189 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Christian Shepherd | Katter’s Australian Party | 1,151 | 3.8 | +3.8 |
| Mick Jones | Greens | 1,025 | 3.4 | -2.1 |
| Yvette Saxon | Informed Medical Options | 328 | 1.1 | +1.1 |
| Paul Crangle | United Australia | 130 | 0.4 | +0.4 |
| Informal | 1,489 | 4.7 |
2020 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Barry O’Rourke | Labor | 17,579 | 58.6 | |
| Tony Hopkins | Liberal National | 12,407 | 41.4 |
Booths in Rockhampton have been divided into three areas: central, north and south. The north covers those areas on the northern side of the river.
The ALP won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all three areas, ranging from 56.2% in the south to 62.8% in the north.
| Voter group | ON prim % | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| North | 12.5 | 62.8 | 4,778 | 15.9 |
| South | 16.6 | 56.2 | 2,993 | 10.0 |
| Central | 12.2 | 58.9 | 1,675 | 5.6 |
| Pre-poll | 12.0 | 58.9 | 14,622 | 48.8 |
| Other votes | 11.2 | 55.8 | 5,918 | 19.7 |
Election results in Rockhampton at the 2020 Queensland state election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and primary votes for Labor, the Liberal National Party and One Nation.
If anyone from Rockhampton knows what is planned to rejuvenate things, I’d love to hear about it.
Dates back to 1968 when the Northside Plaza was built on Musgrave St North Rockhampton..
Prior to that, Quay St, East St, Bolsover St was the Business District.
All the banks were in that area.
A Labor administration took over Town Hall in 1982 after 30 years of CMO rule, they turned East Street from Fitzroy St to Williams St into a pedestrian Mall, and most of the businesses eventually moved to the norhside or shut down.
Because, if you haven’t got Loading Zone access anymore or parking, it’s very difficult to run a business.
Was up there in 2009, the playground i Canning St Allenstown was gone, replaced by a Supermarket, the entire block bounded by Fitzroy st, Bolsover St, Kent St and Archer st was gone, replaced by a shopping centre and a new shopping center was being built on Musgrave St next to Moores Ck.
So, there hasn’t been a business district i Rocky for at least 35 years, it’s just a collectio of shopping centres.