Cooper and McConnel top targets for Greens in Queensland election

The inner Brisbane seats of Cooper and McConnel are among a string of target electorates for the Greens this state election as they vie to boost their numbers in Queensland's parliament.

The minor party has two sitting members, South Brisbane MP Amy MacMahon and Maiwar MP Michael Berkman, but it has also set its sights on Greenslopes, Clayfield, Moggill, Miller, Stafford and Bulimba.

In a bid to capitalise on success in the previous federal election, where the Greens picked up Ryan, Brisbane and Griffith, the party's campaign has involved door-knocking about 100,000 residents across the wishlist seats.

Mr Berkman said recent polling pointed to potential breakthroughs in Cooper, McConnel, Greenslopes and Miller.

Griffith University professor Paul Williams said Cooper and McConnel were the two seats they were most likely to win.

"In places like McConnel and in Cooper, the Greens vote last time was very high ... the demographics there are even closer to the demographics of Griffith and Brisbane."

The ABC's chief election analyst, Antony Green, said the two electorates were key targets for the Greens because they would only require a 3 to 4 per cent swing from Labor to the minor party.

"They're both in federal seats, which were won by the Greens; they polled well in the area at the local government elections, and they think they can beat Labor in them," he said.

In the seat of Cooper, which includes Ashgrove, Bardon, Paddington and Milton, Labor, the Greens and the LNP all gained more than 29 per cent of the vote at the 2020 state election.

Labor's Jonty Bush won the tight race with a 10.5 per cent margin. 

Many voters in the electorate told the ABC that the main issues were crime, cost of living and housing.

Cooper resident Samuel Hodge says infrastructure and education are key issues this state election.  (ABC Radio Brisbane: Antonia O'Flaherty )

But resident Samuel Hodge said infrastructure and education were the top issues that would sway his vote.

"Certainly better roads, upgraded footpaths … infrastructure is getting older, and upgrades need to be done," he said.

Ms Bush acknowledged this year's election would be tough.

Jonty Bush is running for re-election in Cooper.  (ABC News: Rachel Stewart)

"The Greens also claimed they were going to win 10 seats at council [elections], and they really only just got over the line with one … what they can actually deliver and do is another question," she said.

"People will vote for the person they think can deliver, and I think I am that."

She said Labor's policies on cost-of-living measures were resonating with voters.

Ms Bush is also focusing on local commitments, including a library at The Gap State High School, redeveloping parking at the GPS and Valleys Cricket car park, and three years of funding for the Paddington festival.

Katinka Winston-Allom is the Greens candidate in Cooper. (ABC Radio Brisbane: Antonia O'Flaherty)

Katinka Winston-Allom is the Greens candidate for the seat of Cooper.

She ran in 2020, gaining 29.6 per cent of the first preference vote after a 9 per cent swing.

"I must say, it does feel different on the ground this time; I think people are ready for change, and they're ready for a transformative vision for Queensland," she said.

She's campaigning on the Greens' major policies, including capping rent increases, building 100,000 social homes, creating a publicly owned bank, stopping new gas and coal projects and increasing taxes for big corporations.

Ms Winston-Allom is also pledging to deliver a free bus loop that would run every 15 minutes, connecting residents in Milton, Paddington, and Kelvin Grove.

Raewyn Bailey has lived in Cooper for more than 31 years. (ABC Radio Brisbane: Antonia O'Flaherty)

The LNP's candidate is long-term local Raewyn Bailey, who was announced as the candidate about five weeks out of the October 26 poll.

Ms Bailey is focusing on the LNP's pledges on crime, cost of living and housing, and believes the party has a good chance in Cooper as its policies resonate with voters.

She believes the party's pledge to introduce "adult time for an adult crime", where minors would be tried as adults for serious crimes including murder and manslaughter, will deter offenders.

"I believe the only thing that children under 18 or people under 18 are scared about is turning 18 at the moment," she said.

The neighbouring electorate of McConnel, which includes New Farm, Teneriffe, the CBD and parts of Spring Hill, is also facing a three-corner contest.

Local voter Rosalyn said the key issues were homelessness, which she said was a rising problem in the area, and the cost of living generally.

"Rent is getting ridiculous, the cost of housing is getting ridiculous, so that would be the main thing I'm thinking about," she said.

The incumbent MP is State Development Minister Grace Grace, who has held the seat for the better part of 17 years.

Infrastructure Minister Grace Grace says she'll do all she can to stem swings to the Greens.  (ABC News: Stephanie Zillman)

"Last time [the Greens] thought they were going to win, and I topped the poll," she said.

"So people know what I've delivered here, people know who I am, they know what I stand for, I call a spade a shovel.

"I'm always out and about, I'm always speaking with as many locals as I possibly can.

"I can only go on my record — and I'm going to win it, I'm going to be in it to win."

If elected, Ms Grace said she wanted to see the delivery of new social and affordable housing on government-owned land on Ivory Street in Fortitude Valley.

Holstein Wong (centre front) is the Greens candidate for McConnel. (Supplied)

Greens candidate Holstein Wong, a former engineer in Central Queensland's coalfields, said the minor party's chances in McConnel appeared "really positive" given its success in 2020.

"I think the Greens are in a really strong position to be able to hold that balance of power," she said.

She wants to deliver a community meals program for the electorate and create more public and community spaces.

The LNP's candidate is Christien Duffey, who was previously Brisbane City Council's manager of business services.

"We're at a real risk of going to the Greens — you're going to have a representative that will not be a part of the government," he said.

LNP candidate for McConnel Christien Duffey has had career at Brisbane City Council. (Supplied)

"If they are, they'll be in a minority government with Labor, which sounds terrible to me, but you won't have someone that will be able to deliver anything."

Mr Duffey said his career at Brisbane City Council had given him a unique insight into local issues, including economic development, city planning and sustainable growth.

He recently pledged that if elected, the LNP would deliver a "Gold CityGlider" bus service in partnership with the council that would connect the CBD, Fortitude Valley, Bowen Hills and Newstead to Portside Hamilton and Woolloongabba.