Who to vote for in Bowman

Redistributions and retirements mean the Turnbull Government goes into the double-dissolution election with 89 seats, Labor 57 and four crossbenchers.

Bowman is held by the LNP's Andrew Laming, who first won the seat in 2004 and holds it with an 8.9 per cent margin.

Mr Laming has been criticised for the government's ill-fated promises of a rollout of the NBN and for attracting major funding for roads and infrastructure. He came under fire during the week for telling voters at pre-poll booths to just mark their Senate ballot with a "1" above the line.

He said the NBN rollout was on target for completion across the city by year's end and said some southern suburbs already had fast broadband. His achievements include challenging former PM Tony Abbott over Medicare co-payments and pushing for cruise ship liners and tankers to clean up their mess.

He is being challenged by the ALP's Kim Richards, who is pushing education reform. The Greens’ Brad Scott is passionate about sustainable businesses. Family First's Brett Saunders said he was willing to work with whichever party held the balance of power and the Australian Liberty Alliance's Tony Duncan is a conservative who wants to curb immigration

In the upper house, the government has 33 seats and needs six extra votes to pass legislation. 

Two of the 122 candidates for Queensland’s 12 Senate seats have strong ties with Redland City.

Wellington Point's Ludy Sigrist will have his second tilt at a senate position after unsuccessfully running in 2013. The father of two will stand for the Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group).  

Former Capalaba camera shop manager Karin Hanbidge, who ran Supershots Photographic and Camera Shop at Capalaba for 21 years, will stand for the newly formed Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party. The mother of three adult sons grew up in Brisbane and said she wanted a national public register of convicted sex offenders.

Here are the final promises by four of the five candidates for Bowman in the lower house. Their videos are in order of names  on the ballot card.

Bowman covers an area of about 537sq km from Thorneside in the north to Redland Bay in the south and includes the islands of Coochiemudlo, Lamb, Karragara, Macleay, Russell and North Stradbroke.  The main suburbs include Alexandra Hills, Birkdale, Capalaba, Cleveland, Mount Cotton, Ormiston, Redland Bay, Sheldon, Thorneside, Thornlands, Victoria Point and Wellington Point.

First on the ballot card is Greens candidate Brad Scott. After nine years as an Army officer and a successful management career on the Australian waterfront and in large logistic companies, he now runs a small business with his wife in Redlands. He enjoys playing Golden Oldies Rugby for the Redland Crabs and plays an active role in the community.

Second on the ballot card is the Labor Party candidate Kim Richards. She has been a local resident 20 years and is the Chief Operating Officer for a large Brisbane architectural firm. She is also an associate member of the Property Council of Australia and is part of the Women and Diversity Committee. She is on the Management Committee for the Brisbane Development Association. Richards has also volunteered for Group, a Queensland-based mental health organisation.

Third on the ballot is the sitting member for Bowman, the Liberal-National Party’s, Andrew Laming, who has held the seat since 2004 and has am 8.9 per cent margin.The 49 year-old father of two worked as a GP and ophthalmologist in outback Australia and in overseas medical programs in Afghanistan and East Timor. He has also been an international rower, completed a Master of Public Administration through Harvard University, worked as an adviser to former Health Minister Kay Patterson and worked to set up a local eye surgery in Redlands. He first contested the seat unsuccessfully in 2001 before winning in 2004, and clung on again in 2007 with a slender 64 vote margin. Laming attracted attention through two unusual stunts in the current term. In early 2014, he skolled a beer while doing a handstand, and in March last year he was ejected from the House for pouring flammable bunker fuel over his hands to protest the impact of the cruise liner industry's sulphur dioxide emissions. 

Fourth on the ballot card is the Australian Liberty Alliance candidate Tony Duncan. He grew up in Brisbane working as an accountant. He has worked overseas for six years and started his own software business in 2005. He employs staff and services international customers.

The final name of the ballot card is Family First’s Brett Saunders, who is a qualified primary school teacher and an executive assistant in the waste management industry. He lives at Victoria Point and volunteers for many projects, especially with school-aged children.