General News
11 September, 2025
LNP’s push to abolish Hill an outrage
A SUBMISSION by the LNP to abolish the Hill electorate has been blasted by the local member as a “disgraceful attack” on North Queenslanders.
Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Member for Hill, Shane Knuth, said the submission to the Queensland Redistribution Commission (QRC) would strip regional communities of fair representation, while handing even more power to the south-east corner.
“The LNP are showing their true colours,” he said.
“They are hell bent on reducing seats in North Queensland by wiping Hill off the map, while at the same time increasing the number of seats in the south-east of the state,” Mr Knuth said.
He also said the move was about politics, and this was the third time the electorate he represented had been targeted.
“I’ve been in this position as a former member for Charters Towers, then Dalrymple, then Hill, and then the member for goodness knows what,” he said.
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but this can’t happen to an MP three times.
“After 21 years representing regional Queensland, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a calculated attempt to get rid of me.”
The LNP submission is among 116 made by the public during the 30-day suggestion period for redistribution of the state electoral boundaries.
The QRC is now inviting locals to make comment on these submissions until 22 September.
Redistribution is conducted to ensure enrolment numbers are spread fairly between the state’s 93 electoral districts.
Currently 15 out of 93 electorates in Queensland (about 16%) are out of quota, which means they have more or less than 10% of the average number of enrolled electors.
Another nine electorates are nearing quota. The redistribution is expected to affect most electorates as enrolment will need to be balanced across the state.
The Hill electorate includes the Tablelands and the Cassowary Coast, with the Atherton Tablelands alone home to over 27,000 people and expected to grow significantly over the next decade.
According to the Electoral Commission there were 42,146 enrolled in Hill at 4.73% deviation above the average.
Mr Knuth said if the LNP suggestions go ahead, it would create a mega-seat, stretching from the Tablelands to Mount Isa, that would be near impossible to service.
Mr Knuth said the KAP party supported moving Mirriwinni and Babinda back into Mulgrave. The suggestion had also been made by a number of individuals from those towns who had cited geographical and economic ties to the Mulgrave electorate.
“It made sense, it brings the entire Cairns Regional Council area into the one electorate,” he said.
Mr Knuth said the demands on his electorate office had exploded over the last few years and locals were desperate for help with everything from health and housing to agriculture and roads.
“To even consider wiping Hill out when our communities are growing is a disgrace.”
The LNP submission suggests Hill be abolished and the inland towns of Herberton, Ravenshoe, Atherton and Tolga “gravitate towards the south-west”, while the coastal rainforest towns of Malanda and Millaa Millaa look east to Cairns.
“Abolishing Hill enables surrounding seats to regain quota without fragmenting these Tablelands linkages and avoids a cascade of disruptive adjustment throughout Northern Queensland,” the submission said.
It also supported extending Mulgrave to include Babinda and Mirriwinni and expanding the Burdekin electorate to include Charters Towers.
Mr Knuth said he would “fight like hell” to retain Hill, but if the QRC took the submission seriously, he would take on a ninth election “eyeing off the electorates of Mulgrave or Cook”.
Mr Knuth urged locals to fight back against the LNP’s proposal and write to both the QRC and the LNP.
The QRC recommends that when making comments on the suggestions, submitters should indicate the suggestion/s they are referring to, and whether they agree, disagree or have further input on that suggestion.
Comments can be submitted via:
• Online form: ecq.qld.gov.au/QRCconsultation
• Email: QRCsubmissions@ecq.qld.gov.au
• Mail: Queensland Redistribution Commission
GPO Box 1393, Brisbane QLD 4001
