Controversially Veivers entered into a local preference deal with the One Nation Party for a second time. One Nation had attracted 21.7% of the Southport vote at the 1998 election. Veivers recommended that Southport voters give the One Nation candidate their second preference ahead of both Lawlor and an independent candidate, this deal was in defiance of a ban on such preference deals by Opposition Leader Rob Borbidge. Days before the election Borbidge announced that Veivers would head a bid for the 2010 World Expo which provided a last minute boost for the veteran MP.