After initially being announced as a participant for the climate forum, on Wednesday morning Dr Newbury withdrew from the event. He has been contacted for comment. Mr Bartlett slammed his fellow candidates' non-attendance as "deeply disappointing", particularly as polling showed climate change is a high priority for residents in the federal seat of Brisbane. He said months of the Greens doorknocking through the extended summer in blue-ribbon suburbs such as Ascot showed that even for the most loyal Liberal voters, climate change policy is becoming a core voting issue in Brisbane. "There’s no doubt it’s a big issue and that to me makes it deeply disappointing that the local member doesn’t want to come and give his position and hear people’s views on one of the top issues in his electorate," Mr Bartlett said, saying Mr Evans had had "weeks" to clear his schedule.

Brisbane MP Trevor Evans with Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the Allan Border Field last week. Credit:AFR "[Dr Newbury] I am genuinely surprised, he said he was coming. The Labor candidate went to the Ryan forum last night or the night before. "I just don’t understand why they wouldn’t [attend] and it's really disappointing." Labor selected Dr Newbury last year to take a tilt at the seat of Brisbane against Mr Evans, who had 49.85 per cent of the first-preference vote in 2016. Dr Newbury's biography on the Australian Labor Party website details his long career in the electricity industry, including a PhD at the University of Queensland.

The biography describes him as a "passionate advocate" of climate and energy policy and "frustrated" by the Liberal stance. Mr Bartlett said given Dr Newbury's experience in the field, it would have been beneficial for him to attend the forum and give residents a chance to hear his views. "Labor's likely to be in government and ... these forums aren't just to get people to vote for you – obviously that's part of it, but to hear from people. "It's not just the candidates, it's other young people and older people who are concerned about this and it's a great chance to get information, get peoples' views, have a discussion. "To just run away from that is really concerning."

Australian Parents for Climate Action spokeswoman Heidi Edmonds, who organised the #ClimateElection Forum, said the "partisan wars" on climate change needed to end. "We’re seeing some data now that Brisbane is very concerned about climate and people are becoming more aware now that we’re facing a climate emergency, and we need really strong and effective climate action now," she said. "We would have loved to see Trevor Evans there because he is a Liberal representative who has spoken out against new coal mines, so he seems to be someone who is sensitive to climate as an important issue, and we would have loved to have heard more from him," she said. "Paul Newbury from Labor I’m aware actually has a background in renewable energy so he would be someone who should know a lot about climate, so we would love to hear from him." She said the Brisbane electorate was "waking up" and calling for "big, bold action" on climate policy from their elected representatives.