Queensland election: minor parties meet with 'preference whisperer' Glenn Druery
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Version 0 of 1. The man dubbed the “preference whisperer” in the federal election is working with minor parties in the Queensland state election to help them to do deals to maximise their chances of winning a seat. Glenn Druery, the man who helped Motoring Enthusiast party senator Ricky Muir get elected to the Senate on a 0.51% primary vote, is meeting with the Palmer United party (PUP), Katter’s Australian party (KAP) and other minor parties this week to help them iron out preference deals. Multiple party members have confirmed the meetings after the Australian reported them but Druery has remained tight-lipped, telling Guardian Australia he does not ever confirm or deny who his clients are. “When I talk to minor parties I tell them that everything matters, to be elected everything matters, preferences matter, your signage matters, your how-to-votes, you can’t afford to make mistakes, the major parties can and do make lots of mistakes but if minor parties are to be successful, they have to do everything right and as part of that getting preferences right is very, very important,” he said. Speaking generally, Druery conceded Queensland would be a difficult state election in which to get someone elected on preference deals, especially since it does not have an upper house. “How important are preferences [in Queensland]? Less so. But the way the polls are going they may be important, they may be very important, some pollsters are suggesting it may even be a hung parliament with independents having the balance of power,” he said. “Now that’s a big call but it’s possible.” The Greens, one of the only minor parties in Queensland running a candidate in every seat, are understood not to be involved in the potential preference deal and on Monday Greens spokesman Charles Worringham said they had not had any discussions with major parties either. Katter’s Australian party currently holds three seats in the Queensland state parliament and PUP has none. It wooed two MPs, Carl Judge and Alex Douglas, to join the party during the past three years, but both have since quit the party. There are currently four independents in the Queensland parliament. “I don’t think we’re going to see a whole swag of minor parties and independents elected, just because the system is designed such to keep them out but they may punch well above their weight if their preferences are smart,” Druery said. The KAP member for Mount Isa, Rob Katter, said he was not directly involved in the discussions but was aware of them though he was wary of the effectiveness of any preference deal. “Preferences don’t mean as much in the state election because it’s optional preferential and there’s just not much of a drift with preferences usually and I don’t think they’re going to play a big role in my seat. All I’d say is they’re not as significant in the Queensland elections,” he said. |