A hard right faction is jostling to wrest control over a safe seat in the Darling Downs.
The power struggle between Liberals and Nationals is being played out behind closed doors in Toowoomba, with the LNP poised to announce its new federal candidate for the conservative stronghold on the weekend.
Voters in the electorate of Groom head to the polls in a by-election on November 28, following John McVeigh’s resignation from parliament last month.
Mr McVeigh held Groom with 70.48 percent of the two party preferred vote at the last federal election and the district has never elected a Labor candidate in the history of either of its incarnations dating back to 1901.
So it is no surprise that a Melbourne Cup field of candidates is jostling to run for the LNP.
Seven candidates have put their hand up for LNP preselection, set to take place on Sunday.
They are reported to include a local councillor, race car driver, farmer, doctor, businessman and former general manager of the Toowoomba airport.
The party and candidates are keeping their lips sealed in public on the internal machinations, not wanting to distract from Deb Frecklington’s bid to oust the premier at the end of the month.
But it is no secret that Toowoomba is home to powerful figures in the conservative Christian right.
Since Mr McVeigh’s father Tom handed over the reins to Groom in 1988, however, every member has sat with the Liberal Party in Canberra.
When Ian Macfarlane, who represented the Seat from 1998 to 2016, lost his Cabinet position under former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, it is understood he lobbied Groom to sit with the Nationals.
He was unsuccessful in those efforts, but it is believed the campaign is once again in full swing.
The Toowoomba Chronicle reported this week that Groom’s Federal Divisional Council voted to delay a decision on which party the member should sit with, with that call now likely after the by-election.
Cr Rebecca Vonhoff is tipped as a favourite to win the party’s nomination, though it is understood that she leaned left in her bid for council and might struggle to pick up internal votes from the party’s hard right.
However, the Chronicle reports that in her pitch for the preselection, Cr Vonhoff stressed her Christian faith would determine her position on social issues.
GP David van Gend went further, saying he would help the country heal from “cultural sickness”.
Former Wellcamp Airport general manager Sara Hales is considered another strong candidate in a field which also includes Beef Australia president Bryce Camm, Elders stud stock agent Andrew Meara, businessman Garth Hamilton and race car driver Daniel Cassidy.