LIBERAL candidate Andrew Constance has been returned by the voters of the Seat of Bega, winning 53.1 per cent of the vote, compared to 32.9 per cent for Labor candidate Leanne Atkinson and 9.7 per cent to Greens candidate Margaret Perger.
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There were 1439 votes cast at the Narooma polling station, 744 of which went to Constance, 436 to Atkinson and 159 to Perger.
Mr Constance echoed his major opponent, Labor's Leanne Atkinson in thanking other candidates and their teams.
"I want to thank my political opponents for the campaign and their campaign teams," he said.
He blamed that poles and wires campaign, partially, for an increase in Ms Atkinsons's primary vote to about 33 per cent, compared to about 22 per cent in 2011.
Liberal campaign manager Maggie Havu said: “I feel that eight months of hard work has come to fruition and it was a well-deserved win for our hard working local member Andrew Constance.”
Re-elected NSW Premier Mike Baird is expected to make an announcement over a reshuffled Cabinet later this week.
There are rumours Mr Constance is headed for the Health portfolio with former banker Gladys Berejiklian making the step up into Treasury, but Mr Constance said he was happy either way and it was up to the premier.
There is also controversy over the existence of No Land Tax candidate Clyde Archard and whether he exists or is alive. Reports on Wednesday revealed Mr Archard was alive and a chef in Sydney.
Constance thanks Bega electorate
Andrew Constance has today thanked the Bega electorate for placing their support in the Baird Liberal Team and said he looks forward to delivering some great results for the local community over the next four years.
“I am incredibly proud to be able to represent the people of the Bega electorate in the NSW Parliament, and I would like to thank them for their wonderful support over the weekend,” Mr Constance said.
“I’m grateful for the support of my campaign staff who have been working around the clock for several months, as well as those who volunteered their time to spread our positive message.
“I’m truly excited about the changes happening across our region, and I’ll be getting straight back to work to deliver on our promises and the infrastructure and services people need.
“In roads, we’ll be getting on with the $110 million duplication of the Batemans Bay Bridge, as well as the continued upgrades of the Princes, Kings and Snowy Mountains Highways.
“In health, the new South East Regional Hospital is taking shape, which will be a world-class facility, along with the new Eurobodalla oncology and renal dialysis unit.
“The $13 million Eden Port redevelopment will also deliver an incredible boost for the tourism industry with increased cruise ship visits to the region.
“Under the Baird Government, our schools are becoming better resourced and our TAFE institutes are well funded and accommodating courses that will have a direct benefit to our young people.
“Our state is strong and our region is strong, and together with Mike Baird, we’ll ensure the Far South Coast is well supported into the future.
“We’ll deliver more jobs as our record infrastructure plan is rolled out, and we’ll continue to support business through payroll tax rebates so they can hire additional staff.
“Again, I thank the Bega electorate for placing their trust in me and the Baird Liberal Team, which ensures we’ll see some great results locally.”
Greens' Margaret Perger on the election results
“We are delighted with the overall result for the Greens in the lower house with 3 or 4 Greens members sitting when Parliament resumes.” Margaret Perger, Greens candidate for Bega said.
“The local result is also gratifying in that the number of our votes has again increased and especially the 15% we got in the online voting, perhaps as a result of the effort we put into social media this time.”
“Of course it is the result of a great deal of teamwork that has gone into the campaign locally and with extra support from our state team. All our polling booth workers report a much more positive attitude to the Greens than they have experienced in the past.
It seems we are now being recognised as a genuine third party with a full range of costed policies not just a party about the environment” Ms Perger happily reported.
Attending the Official Opening of the Tathra Community Solar Farm was the highlight of the campaign according to Ms Perger, not just because or the use of solar energy but because it was a project that was initiated and carried out by a community group not one that waited for the government to organise it.
The solar panels spell out the word Imagine which can be seen from the air as you fly into Merimbula. This project provides 50% of the energy for the Council sewerage treatment works who will in turn spend the savings they make on adding solar panels to community buildings.
Now Ms Perger is challenging the Eurobodalla community to get a similar project on the way.
“I also hope that Mr Constance is going to look at the concerns of the 47% of the electorate who did not vote for him.” Ms Perger challenged.
“It is fine to build a lovely new hospital but unless it is funded to provide the same level of care as city hospitals then this community will still feel short changed.
Appropriate good practise services for those affected by domestic violence and homelessness are clearly lacking in this electorate as is a quality TAFE system to assist those who are struggling to gain increasingly skilled jobs.”
Ms Perger said “You have the ‘mandate’ Mr Constance so can you rise to the challenge and bring this electorate up to scratch before the next election”
Bega: Power privatisation a major cause of overwhelming swing against Treasurer
Power privatisation fears played a major part in the massive 10 per cent swing against Bega MP and Treasurer AndrewConstance — turning the blue ribbon electorate into a marginal seat.
The Bega electorate — which had local Stop the Sell Off campaigners on the ground in the lead up to the election — recorded a substantially higher swing against the Liberal Party than neighbouring seats.
Of the 11 electorates specifically targeted by by the campaign, it appears as though the Liberal and National Party candidates have been defeated in eight: Strathfield, Lismore, Blue Mountains, Maitland, Port Stephens, Campbelltown, The Entrance, and Gosford.
Stop the Sell Off campaign director Adam Kerslake said local community volunteers across the Bega electorate highlighted the likely impacts of the sell off of the electricity network through door-knocking, phone calls, fliers and high-visibility protest actions.
“Of the 11 electorates that our campaign specifically targeted, there was an overwhelming response from voters, in some cases resulting in swings of more than 20 per cent against sitting MPs, which is unheard of for a first-term government,” Mr Kerslake said.
“Thousands of local volunteers devoted countless hours of their time to knock on doors, hold street stalls, hand out fliers, hold high-visibility protests on major roads, and talk to friends and family about what the sale of our publicly-owned electricity network would mean for them.
Mr Kerslake said the campaign would continue it’s fight, highlighting the words of National Party MP John Barilaro, who last year said: “I don't believe losing between 10 and 20 seats is a mandate.”
“Our position has not changed,” Mr Kerslake said.
“Power privatisation is bad for consumers, bad for workers, and bad for the state, and we will continue to fight it at every possible opportunity, whether that is in the NSW Parliament, via the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Foreign Investment Review Board, or any other potential avenues.
“Should the legislation allowing the privatisation pass through the parliament, we will also continue our campaign to secure job protections and employment guarantees for local workers.
“We will also campaign to ensure service standards for consumers aren’t reduced.”