In a secluded nook , sitting Member for Herbert, Cathy O'Toole (ALP) , poses with the influential Queen of the Curlews, after arranging a royal command for all Curlews on Magnetic Island and the mainland to vote for her . As Ms. O'Toole , the first woman to win the seat of Herbert , scraped home by 37 votes - little more than four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie - this is a wonderful royal deal. There are at least 500 Curlews on the island and an unknown number in Townsville . Ms. O'Toole rejects the scurrilous claim that she bribed the Queen with a crate of gin to get the block of votes .