The prime minister says the Queensland seat will be ‘a test of leadership of the parties’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Malcolm Turnbull has declared the Longman byelection a test of leadership between himself and Bill Shorten, as the Queensland seat firms as a test for the general election.

Longman has become ground zero for the Coalition’s and Labor’s competing tax policies, with Turnbull telling ABC Brisbane radio the contest was not just between candidates Trevor Ruthenberg and Susan Lamb.

“It’s a test of the parties, but it’s really about the people of Longman deciding whether they want to vote for Bill Shorten and his higher taxes, fewer jobs, lower wages and less economic growth,” Turnbull said.

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“The ... contest is between me and Bill Shorten as the prime minister and the opposition leader.”

Labor has run its campaign by focusing on services, although recently it shifted to link Ruthenberg – a former state MP in the Campbell Newman government – to the “failures” of that Liberal National party government.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Liberal National party candidate for Longman, Trevor Ruthenberg. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Shorten picked up that message on Wednesday, referring to Ruthenberg as “Newman’s yes man saying he wants to be Malcolm Turnbull’s yes man”.

But both parties are running a campaign largely focused on the federal party leaders, with the marginal seat saturated with anti-Turnbull and anti-Shorten messages.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has jumped on the leader contest bandwagon by telling supporters a vote for Labor was a vote for the Greens.

No formal preference deal was made between One Nation and the LNP, although both placed each other’s candidates as seventh on their respective how-to-vote cards out of a field of 11.

One Nation placed a white supremacy New South Wales candidate higher than Lamb, following through on Hanson’s vow to direct preferences away from Labor. At the last election, One Nation preferences helped Lamb across the line, although both major party campaigns are sceptical of how influential how-to-vote cards are to One Nation supporters.

With neither party yet to get a handle on which way the seat will fall as One Nation’s “protest vote” message begins to take hold, both leaders arrived in Queensland to battle it out on the hustings.

Turnbull arrived earlier in the week but has largely stayed away from Longman-specific press calls, instead deploying the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop. Bill Shorten headed to Bribie Island following a visit from the deputy opposition leader, Tanya Plibersek, to Caboolture on Tuesday.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The deputy opposition leader, Tanya Plibersek (right), with the Labor candidate for Longman, Susan Lamb, in Caboolture on Tuesday. Photograph: Glenn Hunt/AAP

The result of the 28 July byelections, where Labor is also locked in a tough battle with the Liberal party to retain the Tasmanian seat of Braddon, is being closely watched by Shorten’s and Turnbull’s critics.

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A government has not won a byelection in an opposition-held seat since 1920, but the unpredictability of both Longman and Braddon has set off speculation over both Shorten’s future leadership prospects and the possibility Turnbull will call a general election.

On Wednesday Turnbull again moved to quell that speculation.

“There will be a general election in the first half of next year,” he said.

“The election will be next year. Yes, the election will be next year in the first half of next year. I get asked this every day. I don’t know, do you want, would you like to have a general election this year?

“I think most people like elections to be held when they’re due, every three years.”