Newcastle and Wollongong voters deliver crushing verdict
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday March 28, 2011
JUST because the crash was expected did not make it any less shocking. Labor has been crippled in its last true heartlands, the twin steel cities to Sydney's north and south, Newcastle and Wollongong.As counting resumes this morning Labor looks to have lost the Hunter Valley seats of Charlestown, Maitland, Swansea and even Newcastle itself.There Labor appears to have taken a hit for foisting a candidate appointed by head office under Labor's controversial N40 rule, Jodi McKay, on to what was once a diehard Labor seat.Ms McKay failed to reinvigorate Newcastle's dying CBD, just as Labor failed to rip up the train line that divides the city from its port. This led to the collapse of a $600 million redevelopment project and a bitter loss of faith by many Novocastrians in their government.Both Newcastle and Wollongong have changed over the 16 years of Labor government, with heavy industry retreating and universities expanding, eating into Labor's core vote.The Liberals have retained Port Stephens, George Souris has kept his Nationals seat of Upper Hunter, and the independent Greg Piper has held Lake Macquarie. Labor can boast victories only in Wallsend and Cessnock.The demolition in Wollongong could have been worse. The star Liberal candidate in its assault on the Illawarra, John Dorahy, failed to win the seat of Keira. Instead Ryan Park, former chief of staff of the outgoing member, David Campbell, has won a surprising victory against the former NRL star.Kiama, as expected, fell hard to the Liberal candidate, Gareth Ward. Shellharbour held for Labor and the contest in Wollongong is undecided and increasingly bitter.Michelle Blicavs, the Liberal candidate, has accused Labor of electoral fraud. She believes Labor workers stole Liberal how-to-vote cards, doctored them to recommend voters give their preferences to Labor, and mingled them with genuine Liberal campaign materials.As a result Liberal volunteers handed out cards that benefited Labor's Noreen Hay. Ms Hay denies any knowledge of such a scam. The how-to-vote cards are with Wollongong police and a complaint has been lodged.Last night second and third preferences were being counted, with the popular independent candidate, a Uniting Church minister, Reverend Gordon Bradbery, saying it was still too close to call.He said the campaign had at times been ugly, and he criticised Labor advertisements that alleged he supported legalisation of heroin, based on a comment he made in 1996 that addiction should be treated medically rather than legally.
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald
