Tag Archives: Election

The Battle for Parramatta: “Underdog” Katie Mullens takes on Lord Mayor Donna Davis in key seat

Uncategorized, , , ,

Lee has held his spot comfortably since, and is the first Liberal to be re-elected in Parramatta in its single-seat history. Lee has held a number of low-profile portfolios in the Berejiklian and Perrottet Governments, and is currently Minister for Corrections.

Lee announced he would not be recontesting Parramatta last year.

A significant boundary redistribution means Parramatta is almost entirely contained within the City of Parramatta local government area. The electorate gains Silverwater, Newington, Wentworth Point and Sydney Olympic Park, Clyde and Westmead, while losing the Liberal-leaning suburbs of Oatlands, Carlingford, Telopea and Dundas Valley to the neighbouring seat of Epping.

This brings the Liberal margin down from 10.6% to 6.5%

The retiring member enjoyed a strong personal vote. Partly because he was the first person with Chinese heritage to be elected to the Lower House in an electorate where more than one in five residents have Chinese ancestry. Losing a popular member may cut into the narrow Liberal margin.

Labor’s candidate is the Lord Mayor of Parramatta City Council is Donna Davis who was elected to council in 2017 and has been Lord Mayor since January 2022.

Davis has lived and worked in Parramatta for decades, in the public sector and as a staffer to Federal and State parliamentarians. Significantly, Labor leader Chris Minns announced her candidacy alongside a big ticket commitment to build a new high school in Melrose Park.

Her high profile may be why Geoff Lee’s Liberal replacement in Parramatta, local lawyer Katie Mullens, is claiming underdog status. Originally from the small town of Bellbrook, near Kempsey, Mullens moved to Parramatta to study law at Western Sydney University, and has practiced law in locally for the past 15 years.

Mullens says her work as a lawyer is not dissimilar to that of a local member, in that she listens to people’s problems and helps them find a solution. If elected, Ms Mullens says her focus will be on improving the cost of living and helping small businesses.

Other candidates in the running include Ben Hammond (Greens), Rohan Laxmanalal (Animal Justice Party) and Mritunjay Singh (Pauline Hanson’s One Nation).

All eyes on the Upper Hunter: Labor looks to break the Nationals stronghold in key seat

Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Since the abolition of proportional representation in 1927, Labor has never held the Upper Hunter electorate, with the Nationals holding the seat uninterrupted for 92 years.

The Nationals’ Dave Layzell won the 2021 Upper Hunter byelection with an increased 5.8-point margin and was the first time in more than a decade that a government had a swing towards them in a by-election.

This election, however, the electoral redistribution has moved the seat into Labor-leaning areas, gaining Branxton and parts of Maitland and Cessnock. The new boundaries have reduced the Nationals’ margin to a mere 0.5 per cent, making it the third most marginal seat in New South Wales.

As of today, there are four candidates running in the Upper Hunter.

Sitting MP Dave Layzell is confident he can retain his seat. A former construction manager, Layzell lives in Clarence Town with his wife and four daughters. Mr Layzell made headlines in November after threatening to cross the floor and vote against the Coalition if it did not back moves to allow Port of Newcastle to build a container terminal[1].

Labor’s Peree Watson, a lifelong Upper Hunter resident, lives in Branxton with her husband and three children. Peree has worked in accounting, hospitality, management and journalism before moving to the not-for-profit sector.

Ms Watson believes that the coal industry and its role in the region will not be the dominant issue this election, stating “If we’re going to be making an impact and changing people’s lives in the Upper Hunter, we need to be talking about more than just coal.”[2]

Peree Watson will be focusing her campaign on equitable access to services in the Upper Hunter, including healthcare, education, employment and better infrastructure in electorate. Ms Watson has claimed that if Labor wins the Upper Hunter this election, they will form Government.

The 0.7 swing against the Greens in 2021 has not deterred retired science teacher and Greens Upper Hunter candidate Tony Lonergan from running on an anti-coal platform this year, claiming that the coal industry has “expanded unchecked, completely altering the landscape, polluting the air and fundamentally changing the social balance of the Upper Hunter”.

Independent Archie Lea is running again, after scoring 135 votes in the 2021 by-election. He is keeping a low profile, and does not appear to have a social media presence.

 

Following a pact with the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (SFF) Party to not compete with each other, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation will not run a candidate in the Upper Hunter this year, however, with only 40 days until the election, the SFF is yet to announce a candidate in the electorate.

[1] https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/government-mps-could-cross-floor-over-controversial-port-penalties-20221010-p5bomv.html

[2] https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/8036636/labor-targets-upper-hunter-as-key-marginal-seat/

Article by Jackie Lloyd, Government Relations Associate at Primary Communication

Spotlight on Heathcote in countdown to NSW poll

Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

Primary Communication is running the rule over key New South Wales seats in the lead up towards polling day. But first, some context to set the scene.

A number of key themes are emerging as New South Wales moves inexorably towards its March 25 election, and some of them are reading like a re-run of the Federal poll.

Gender balance (or a lack thereof), pre-selection delays (especially on the government side where 36 seats lacked a candidate a week ago), and the general malaise of eroding support for major parties, are stand outs.

A cashless gaming card (on the government side), tolls and housing affordability (from Labor) were the first substantial issues to emerge from the post-Christmas policy phony war.

Although the Coalition won the 2019 election with 48 seats to Labor’s 36, redistributions and a process of attrition have left Premier Dominic Perrottet in charge of a minority government.

On paper, Labor needs a daunting 6.2 percent swing (or nine seats) to win a majority, but a Chris Minns government with crossbench support is a strong possibility if it picks up just five seats.

There are nine crossbenchers in the current Parliament. That statistic, and the likely continuing slide in major party support, makes the concept of a universal swing irrelevant.

Changes brought about by the 2020-21 electoral redistribution makes Coalition-held Heathcote one of the most fascinating contests.

The seat runs from Kirrawee in the Sutherland Shire to Bulli at the base of the Illawarra Escarpment. It votes strongly Liberal in the north and consistently Labor in the south.

Onetime chef and gourmet food distribution company owner Lee Evans has held Heathcote since 2011, and won again in 2019 with a five percent margin. Boundary shifts have made his seat notionally Labor with a 1.7 percent majority, and he has lost supportive booths in the Shire.

His Labor opponent, Maryanne Stuart, is a former political staffer who is a long-time Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) campaign organiser. Like Evans, she has strong local ties. She managed a 2.1 percent swing after first preferences at the last election.

Evans has been campaigning on an upgrade to Shellharbour Hospital, improvements to Heathcote Road and support for local sport. Expect Labor to throw everything at Heathcote and to target cost-of-living issues.

The Green candidate is Bundeena resident Cooper Riach who at 22 years of age is green in all senses of the word. His party went backwards by 0.3 percent at the last poll – but that statistic is academic if neither major party wins an absolute majority.

Article by Craig Regan, Senior Account Director at Primary Communication