Nicklin renamed Nambour in electorate shake-up

The Nicklin electorate will officially become Nambour at the next Queensland election, with Palmwoods shifting into Glass House and the electorate expanding north into the Mary Valley under a major electoral redistribution finalised this week.

The Queensland Redistribution Commission has confirmed the changes ahead of the October 2028 state election, saying the Sunshine Coast’s rapid population growth required boundaries to be redrawn to keep voter numbers balanced across the region.

For the Sunshine Valley Gazette readership, the most significant change is the renaming of Nicklin to Nambour, recognising the hinterland’s largest and most recognisable town.

The Commission said it had returned to the longstanding Queensland practice of naming electorates after geographical places, rather than people. Nicklin was named after former Queensland premier Sir Francis Nicklin.

The new Nambour electorate will lose Palmwoods, Chevallum, Ilkley, Hunchy and western Tanawha to the neighbouring Glass House electorate.

It will gain northern hinterland communities stretching west from Flaxton to Kenilworth, as well as Traveston, Imbil, Kandanga, Amamoor, Amamoor Creek and surrounding localities in the southern Gympie region.

Part of Eumundi will also transfer from the renamed Coolum electorate into Nambour, placing it alongside nearby hinterland communities including Yandina and Cooroy.

The Commission said Nambour and Glass House had both shifted north to accommodate the creation of the new Caboolture electorate in the Moreton Bay region and to absorb enrolment pressure from the over-quota Caloundra and Gympie districts.

“The districts of Glass House and Nambour (formerly Nicklin) have shifted north to accommodate the new district of Caboolture in the Moreton Bay region and absorbed some enrolment pressure from the over-quota Caloundra and Gympie as part of this change,” the Commission said.

Calls for Cooroy to be transferred into the Noosa electorate were again rejected.

The Commission acknowledged submissions highlighting Cooroy’s links with Noosa but concluded the town should remain within Nambour to better balance elector numbers between the two districts.

Glass House has also been substantially redrawn.

It gains Palmwoods, Beerwah, Landsborough, Glenview, Chevallum, Ilkley and western Tanawha while losing Kenilworth, Flaxton, Cambroon and other northern hinterland communities to Nambour.

The electorate will also lose its southern Moreton Bay communities to the newly created Caboolture district.

The Commission said the revised Glass House boundaries better united Sunshine Coast hinterland communities west of the Bruce Highway, including towns connected through Steve Irwin Way and the broader hinterland road network.

Under the new boundaries, Nambour will have 38,793 enrolled voters based on September 2025 figures, while Glass House will have 38,410. Both are projected to remain within the required enrolment quota by 2032.

Marty Hunt remains the Member for Nicklin and Andrew Powell remains the Member for Glass House until the new boundaries take effect at the 2028 election.