‘I’m not a quitter’: Mettam responds to ‘catastrophic’ polling that suggests Zempilas should be Liberal leader

The research, carried out by Sodali and Co, said Zempilas’ leadership could deliver wins in Churchlands, Nedlands, Carine, Bateman and Scarborough.

Mettam said she was aware of the polling, and it had been assessed by a reputable polling specialist who said it showed an obvious bias and was “as exercise loaded in favour of Zempilas, masquerading as genuine voter insight”.

“Many elements of this ‘polling’, including the key ‘aided’ vote measure which is used to make the central argument regarding Zempilas does not adopt a statistically rigorous, transparent, or best practice approach and provides no meaningful insight into the intentions of the electorate,” she said.

“Despite asking, I have no knowledge of the identity of those that commissioned, funded or supported the commissioning this “polling” – only that they were “businessmen”.

“Rather than hide like gutless little cowards in the shadows – they should show some strength of character and be transparent as clearly their intentions are.

“While this “polling” was designed and conducted by others to benefit Basil Zempilas, I welcome and thank Basil for publicly making his support for me and his position clear.”

Zempilas is the Liberal candidate for the seat of Churchlands, but is not an elected member of Parliament.

However, there is precedent for Liberal leaders to lead the party from the outside of the campaign.

Campbell Newman lead the Liberals to victory at the 2012 state Queensland election as leader of the Liberals campaign party campaign.