On a knife edge

MCEWEN voters will be in the media spotlight as Australia goes to the polls on 21 August. The battle in 2007 for what is now the most marginal seat in the country went on for months with veteran Liberal Fran Bailey ultimately surviving a legal challenge from Labor’s Rob Mitchell by just 31 votes.
With Ms Bailey out of the picture, retiring after representing McEwen from 1990 to ’93 and again from 1996 to 2010, the outcome will be not only fiercely contested but also closely watched as the votes start to flow. The candidates to date are Rob Mitchell, ALP, and Steve Meacher, The Greens, both 2007 candidates, and newcomer Cameron Caine for the Liberals. The National Party has confirmed it will not run a candidate in McEwen.
Mr Mitchell said he would go to the polls as part of a Gillard Government that would “move Australia forward”. He said as a candidate, he was committed to better schools and hospitals, a strong economy and a sustainable Australia.
“The Gillard government will deliver a strong economy and bring the budget to surplus by 2013,” Mr Mitchell said.
Among his government’s promises he said would be to fund 3000 new nursing training places and 1300 GPs and GPs in training over the next three years.
Record investment in solar and other renewables, the continuation of the schools’ computer roll-out, trades training centres and a national curriculum were also on the table, Mr Mitchell said.
“Locally my focus is to ensure we have a strong voice for our community and, given the diversity of McEwen, I want to make sure we can continue to build stronger communities no matter were you choose to live,” he said.
Mr Caine, a Kinglake policeman, said he will be seeking the support of the electorate as “an ordinary family man”.
“I’m not a party machine person,” he said, identifying as number one in his list of key issues reining in Labor spending which he said was putting pressure on interest rates and the cost of living.
Other issues, he said, were giving communities a say in investment in health and education, addressing ongoing problems in bushfire recovery, transport, which he identified as a major issue in many parts of McEwen, the environment, in particular need of help in the wake of the bushfires and mental health, particularly in relation to teenagers. Mr Caine said he was committed to helping communities.
The Mail was unable to contact Mr Meacher for a comment in time for deadline, however at a Green’s party launch in May, Mr Meacher identified climate change as a key issue, among others.
He called for a change to “clever politics” on important issues.
It was pointed out on the night that in the most marginal seat in Australia, Mr Meacher doesn’t have to come first to take the seat!
With preferential voting, Mr Meacher has only to secure favourable preferences – presumably from Labor, to open up that possibility. At the same time, Cameron Caine will be without the benefit of Nationals’ preferences, or the established support Ms Bailey has enjoyed, adding to his degree of difficulty.