Peter Wellington (IND) since 1998 election.
An electorate covering the rural hinterland of the northern Sunshine Coast, the central spine of Nicklin runs along the Bruce Highway and includes Nambour, Yandina and Cooroy. It also includes Bli Bli and areas between the Sunshine Motorway and Bruce Highway, as well as inland Mapleton and Kenilworth.
Nicklin has been nipped and tucked on all boundaries, losing Palmwoods and Eudlo to Glass House, while gaining Cooroy from Gympie and Bli Bli from Maroochydore. None of these changes will have much impact on the ability of sitting Independent MP Peter Wellington to retain this seat.
Nicklin was a seat created by the redistribution before the 1986 election and was named after former Country Party Premier Frank Nicklin, who had represented the Sunshine Coast for several decades. The seat's first MP was Brian Austin, the former Liberal MP who switched to the Nationals following the 1983 election, allowing the Nationals to govern in their own right. The redistribution before the 1986 election had abolished Austin's inner-Brisbane seat of Wavell, requiring a move to the Sunshine Coast. Caught up in the Fitzgerald Commission, Austin retired at the 1989 election, succeeded by Neil Turner, who returned to politics after being MP for Warrego 1974-86. In an upset at the 1998 election, local Maroochy Shire Councillor Peter Wellington ran second with 25.6% of the vote and defeated Turner with the help of Labor and some One Nation preferences. Turner was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly at the time and lost more than half his primary vote from the 1995 election. Wellington's first job in Parliament after the 1998 election was to decide who would form government, as the emergence of One Nation had left Labor one seat short of a Parliamentary majority. The only alternative government to Labor was a rag-tag coalition of National, Liberal and One Nation, which forced Wellington to back Peter Beattie as the only hope of achieving stable government. Given what subsequently occurred to the 11 One Nation MPs, the alternative would certainly have been messy. Wellington has since been easily re-elected, winning 46.3% of the primary vote in 2001, 59.6% in 2004 and 59.7% in 2006.
51 year-old Peter Wellington was a local councillor when he snuck between Labor, One Nation and the National Party to win Nicklin at the 1998 election. With the election outcome inconclusive, Wellington found himself with the critical vote in determining the fate of government, Labor finishing one seat short of a majority. As a result, Wellington's inaugural speech was unusual as much of it was set aside to explaining his decision to give the crucial support that made Peter Beattie Premier. When Labor won the Mulgrave by-election in December 2001, his vote became less important, though Beattie continued to keep Wellington informed of his government's activities. Wellington's bill to introduce citizen's initiated referendums was considered by the Parliament, but slipped off the agenda after its constitutional problems were examined by the Scrutiny of Legislation committee. Wellington was easily re-elected at the 2001 election, doubling his primary vote, easily re-elected again in 2004 and 2006. Wellington suffered a terrible tractor accident in 2001 when the tractor he was driving n his property rolled on him, badly breaking both legs.
As in 2006, Wellington's major opponent is 46 year-old Steve Morrison, a Bli Bli resident who was born and raised in Samford and trained as a mechanical technician before moving to the Sunshine Coast in 1985 to start a mechanical and machinery sales and service business in Nambour. He still operates it today and it employs 15 people. Since 1985 his firm has been responsible for manufacturing soil aerating machinery which directly reduces the need for using chemical fertilizers and has sold them in all parts of Australia. In 2001 he designed and built sprayers for the Strawberry industry which led to a direct reduction in chemical usage by 45% and reduced water requirements by 50%. These sprayers are now in use all over Australia.
Peter Wellington should be re-elected.