INDEPENDENT HOLDS KEY IN CUNNINGHAM

The pressure will be on Cr Ann Collins to decide on preference allocations
after she drew the sought-after number one position on the ballot sheet for
the seat of Cunningham.

The independent candidate's preferences were of vital importance to
Cunningham even before she drew number one on the card.

The position will mean she will draw at least a few donkey votes from
constituents who number their preferences from the top down.

Final nominations for the February 17 State election were announced yesterday.

Of the seven southern inland Queensland seats - Toowoomba North, Toowoomba
South, Lockyer, Cunningham, Southern Downs, Darling Downs and Warrego -
Lockyer has the most candidates with seven nominating.

A One Nation candidate for Lockyer has been sacked by party leader Mrs
Pauline Hanson after revealing she was found guilty of marijuana possession
more than three years ago. Mother of four Ms Angela Micallef, who will now
stand as an independent, said yesterday she had used the marijuana for
medical reasons.

She was replaced as One Nation candidate at the last minute by Mr Bill Flynn.

The National Party has stayed with tradition, posting strong candidates
across the southern inland's seven electorates.

Labor Party supporters could be disappointed by the party's failure to
field local candidates across much of the region, posting cardboard cutouts
from Brisbane in at least three electorates - Toowoomba South, Western
Downs and Darling Downs.

Mr Peter Shooter, standing for Toowoomba South, rejected the tag even
though he lives in Brisbane. He was "born and bred'' in Allora, he said.

Candidate for Southern Downs Ms Stella Rey could not be contacted.

Labor's exceptions are Mrs Leeann King for Cunningham, who has been
campaigning hard for months, and Mr Kerry Shine for Toowoomba North, who
also stood at the last election.

The new Darling Downs electorate, made up of much of the former electorates
of Crows Nest and Western Downs, has drawn only three candidates, with
independent Mr Ray Hopper, a dairy farmer, offering a conservative
alternative to the Nationals' Cr Peter Taylor.

Toowoomba North Rob Berry (Ind) Frank Francis (PHON) Graham Healy (NP)*
Grahame Mogg (Ind) Kerry Shine (ALP) Toowoomba South Mike Horan (NP)* Peter
Shooter (ALP) Cunningham Ann Collins (Ind) Stuart Copeland (NP) David
Drinan (PHON) Leeann King (ALP) John Reynolds (CCAQ) Peter Rookas (LP)
Southern Downs Lawrence Springborg (NP)* Joan White (Ind) Stella Rey (ALP)
Darling Downs Ray Hopper (Ind) John Martin (ALP) Peter Taylor (NP) Lockyer
Lindsay Christensen (NP) Virginia Clarke (ALP) Bill Flynn (PHON) Angela
Micallef (Ind) Ken Murray (Ind) Jo Nemeth (GRN) Peter Prenzler (CCAQ)*
Warrego Anthony Chisholm (ALP) Howard Hobbs (NP)* Robert Burton (ON)

Key: *signifies incumbents (ALP) Australian Labor Party, (CCAQ) City-
Country Alliance Queensland, (GRN) Greens, (Ind) Independent, (LP) Liberal
Party, (NP) National Party, (PHON) Pauline Hanson's One Nation.