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Is Melbourne Ports Going To Be The Surprise Result In The Election?

Jul 11, 2016

As counting continues to determine whether the re-elected Turnbull government will have a majority in its own right, attention has turned to an unusual situation in Melbourne Ports.

DanbyThe inner Melbourne electorate includes Port Melbourne, Southbank, South Melbourne, Albert Park, St. Kilda, Elwood, Balaclava and Caulfield, and has been held by the ALP since 1906. In that 110-year period, it has had just 5 members.

Michael Danby has held Melbourne Ports since 1998. He is seeking a seventh term at this year’s election. A member of the ALP’s right-wing faction, Danby is well-known for his defence of Israel and his hostility to the Greens.

At recent elections, Danby’s primary vote has steadily declined and he has been dependent on Greens preferences since 2001. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, A.L.P., AEC, Campaign Techniques, Election Statistics, Greens, House of Reps, Liberal Party Tagged With: , , , , , ,

GetUp! Lauds Its Election Campaign; Liberals Disagree

Jul 09, 2016

The activist group GetUp! has congratulated itself on its election campaign and taken credit for campaigns that removed conservative Liberals from parliament.

GetUp! has posted a YouTube video applauding its campaign work, especially its use of phone banks to contact voters in marginal seats and its distribution of how-to-vote cards on polling day.

The Liberal Party has attacked GetUp!, claiming it poured a million dollars into the campaign against Andrew Nikolic in Bass, Tasmania. Nikolic was defeated by a swing of just over 10% in the Launceston-based electorate. Nikolic, a former army officer, was one of former prime minister Tony Abbott’s staunchest supporters in the last parliament. The Liberal Party’s Senate leader, Eric Abetz, has attributed Nikolic’s defeat to the campaign by GetUp!. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, Campaign Techniques, Election Advertisements, Turnbull, Video Tagged With: , , ,

Election Gets Willing As Preference Deals Announced; Turnbull Says Libs Will Put Greens Last

Jun 12, 2016

The Liberal Party has announced that it will preference the Labor Party ahead of the Greens in every electorate in the election.

The ALP has announced that it will preference the Liberal Party ahead of The Nationals in the rural seats of Murray (Vic), Durack and O’Connor (WA).

The Liberal Party decision is particularly important since it makes it very difficult for the Greens to make up ground in Batman, Wills and Melbourne Ports (Vic), and in Sydney and Grayndler (NSW). The decision all but guarantees that the ALP candidates will win these seats. Late last week, the Greens announced that they would preference the ALP ahead of the Liberals in the inner-city Melbourne seats.

The decision could make Melbourne difficult for the Greens member Adam Bandt, who will need to maintain his primary vote to overcome the lack of Liberal preferences.

The ALP’s preferences in the three rural seats will also prevent The Nationals increasing their numbers in the Coalition, relative to the Liberal Party. ALP preferences will be of particular value in Murray, where the new Liberal candidate, Duncan McGauchie, faces a strong Nationals contender, Damian Drum. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, A.L.P., Campaign Techniques, Greens, How-To-Vote Cards, Liberal Party, Turnbull Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

David Feeney’s ALP Talking Points Document

May 25, 2016

This is the talking points document that David Feeney left in a Sky News studio.

Feeney gave a stumbling interview to David Speers, in which he was unable to explain the party’s policy on the SchoolKids Bonus.

The interview followed days of bad publicity over Feeney’s failure to register a property he owns on his declaration of interests.

Feeney also negatively gears the property. The ALP has undertaken to end negative gearing if elected. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, A.L.P., Campaign Techniques Tagged With: ,
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