Rob Skelton may be a “red pimple in a sea of blue” as one of only two state Labor MPs on the Sunshine Coast, but he plans to fire things up.
An aviation firefighter by profession, the new Nicklin MP is the first Labor representative in 100 years (since Andrew Thompson in 1920 when the area was part of Wide Bay).
The first-time candidate defeated the LNP’s Marty Hunt who was elected in 2017 after the seat was held for seven terms by Independent MP Peter Willington.
Mr Skelton achieved the seemingly impossible feat on a shoestring campaign budget of only $10,000 and a team of about a dozen elderly volunteers.
He personally travelled some 6000km across the electorate, doorknocking and speaking to locals.
“We were a small pack of ratbags who worked so hard to make this happen,” said Mr Skelton, who moved to Nicklin from Morayfield six months earlier for lifestyle reasons.
“We had a very small budget, we didn’t have a lot, especially compared to the incumbent MP who got $30,000 straight off the bat.”
Certainly “not a career politician,” Mr Skelton said he was asked by a friend to run for politics and gave it serious consideration because he believed the electorate, particularly around Nambour, “should have always been Labor”.
“To me it was an anomaly that it wasn’t,” he said, citing the demographic as well as the fact that former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and former federal Treasurer Wayne Swan hailed from the town.
“The premier was personally very popular in the electorate, people loved her especially the elderly and vulnerable because of her tough stance on COVID,” he said.
Mr Skelton was a firefighter with Airservices Australia for 10 years, putting out flames and rescuing people from airline and airport disasters.
Previous to that he was in the Australian Defence Force – navy and airforce – for nine years in aviation firefighting and border and fishing patrol roles.
From 2018 to 2020 Mr Skelton was aviation branch president of the United Firefighters’ Union.
Having been through a divorce and settlement, the father of two daughters and a son said he had taken up the challenge of politics because he was wanted to open a new life chapter.
“It meant I would have to resign as a firefighter which I did (in November),” he said.
“I think I’m prepared for parliament because if you know anything about what a firefighters’ mess is like it can be pretty opinionated.” 
With the LNP gone, Mr Skelton said he planned to focus on boosting the region’s image after accusing the previous candidate of talking down the area.
“The former MP was always carping on about law and order issues but from my perspective we need to be talking up the region so that people want to visit and want to live here,” he said.
As well as his election promises (listed below) Mr Skelton said he was passionate about protecting heritage (such as traditional housing) and environment, attacking climate change and promoting tourism.
Nicklin Electorate Election Promises
- Burnside High school: $10.7 million for a performing arts centre.
- Nambour State College: $270,000 for disabled access.
- Nambour Police Station: Demolition has commenced and tenders have been called for a new $ 9 million police station
- Bruce Highway upgrades- Maroochydore Road and Mons Road interchange ($301.25 million state contribution)
- Nambour Hospital: Upgrade of emergency department, mental health and allied health
