Labor announces new candidates to take on Qld seats

Anthony Albanese says Forde candidate Rowan Holzberger would form a valuable part of his team. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

Labor candidate Rowan Holzberger will have another crack at the federal seat of Forde while Rebecca Hack has been named to take on Ryan.

Mr Holzberger narrowly lost the outer Brisbane seat to the Liberal Nationals Party's Bert Van Manen by just over four per cent in 2022. 

Labor had an overall swing of 4.4 per cent to it, despite a small primary swing away of 1.5 per cent. Mr Van Manen lost 6.6 per cent of the LNP's primary vote.

"It's a great honour to be running for election, led by my very good friend, the prime minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese," he told reporters in Meadowbrook on Thursday.

"I'm running because I want to do what I can to improve the living standards for people in our community."

The prime minister said Mr Holzberger would form a valuable part of the team as the government works to tackle cost of living pressures.

"What we need is a government that deals with those immediate challenges, but one that delivers for Australia's long term future, and I want  Rowan Holzberger to be a part of that," he said alongside his candidate.

Anthony Albanese and Rebecca Hack pose for a selfie
Anthony Albanese visited the federal seat of Ryan that Rebecca Hack is looking to clinch for Labor.

Mr Albanese earlier visited the Brisbane-based seat of Ryan with Labor candidate Rebecca Hack from the Queensland Teachers Union.

"I spent a lifetime giving back to the community ... I've volunteered in dozens of community organisations, and I've educated 15,000 teachers on the devastating impact of childhood trauma," she said alongside Mr Albanese at the Mount Coot-tha Lookout in Brisbane.

"I passionately believe in making a difference, it's what I've tried to do my whole life. And this is just a natural progression to me."

Polls have Labor at a loss in Queensland but narrowly leading the two-party preferred vote over the opposition overall.

Ms Hack said Ryan remained a winnable seat after the Greens claimed it in 2022 with a 10 per cent swing and Labor suffered a small loss in its primary vote.

"We have no idea what is going to happen in Ryan, it's absolutely a three-way contest," she said.

"People are frustrated, people are looking for who is going to actually deliver on the promises they make."

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