Labor, coalition in battle for bucks Labor faces a cashed-up Liberal National Party in Kevin Rudd's home state of Queensland. While the LNP has preselected candidates for all 30 Queensland federal seats for the 2013 election, Labor is still finalising its team. An LNP insider described the state of the party's books as "extremely well cashed-up." One fundraising program is understood to charge business chiefs $17,000 a head to get access to special briefings and events with Newman state government members and visiting federal opposition frontbenchers. The Queensland LNP will hold its annual convention in Brisbane this weekend, which will help the party's election war chest. Observers at the convention are paying $210 a head, while a gala dinner, featuring Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Nationals leader Warren Truss, costs $160 a head. University of Queensland political academic Ian Ward said the state election landslide to Campbell Newman had impacted on Labor's ability to fundraise in the Sunshine State. However, the Labor campaign machine is hastily making the most of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's return three weeks ago to conduct fundraising lunches and dinners. A Federal Labor Business Forum in Sydney on Monday costs $1500 a head or $12,000 a table, with guest appearances from ministers and Mr Rudd himself. On a smaller scale, one Brisbane-based MP Graham Perrett, who holds the state's most marginal seat of Moreton, is running an international beer festival and a wine drive. "Keep calm, drink wine - and don't let Tony Abbott do on a national scale what Campbell Newman has done to Queensland," Mr Perrett says on his website. Labor has completed preselections in all Queensland seats except two, Kennedy and Rankin. On Friday, the ballot will close for retiring minister Craig Emerson's seat of Rankin. And Kennedy, held by crossbench MP Bob Katter, is expected to be filled on Friday or early next week. Queensland ALP secretary Anthony Chisholm said all of the candidates had strong local connections.