When I sat down to interview the Prime Minister this morning, I jokingly asked if he’d bought real estate in Queensland, given he’d have to spend so much time here in the days and weeks before the election.
But he might need to.
Queensland is that crucial to Scott Morrison clinging to the keys to The Lodge.
Watch Lane Calcutt's exclusive interview with Scott Morrison tonight on 9News Brisbane at 6pm.
Bill Shorten knows it too. The Opposition Leader has already trod a well-worn track to the Sunshine State.
And there’ll be many, many more.
The Morrison Government actually has to win at least one seat in Queensland, without losing any, to have any chance of being re-elected.
Consider the state-of-play, and it becomes clear what a task he faces.
Of the 30 Maroon seats, the Coalition has 21. Labor only needs to win four nationally for Bill Shorten to become PM.
This is where it gets really difficult.
The LNP has five seats, including Home Affairs Minister, Peter Dutton’s, that it holds by less than two per cent. Another five are held by four per cent or less.
Given the latest published polls, the job looks impossible.
The Ipsos poll has Labor ahead 53 to 47, while Newspoll has the Coalition trailing 52 to 48.
That’s a slight Budget bounce for the Government. But not enough.
Maybe Scott Morrison should buy some of that Queensland real estate for life after politics.