Congratulations to all Richmond candidates for the good-natured way in which they conducted the campaign, unlike what’s been reported in other electorates.
Justine of course will be pleased with her win; her campaign featured some of the best newspaper ads I’ve seen her produce.
The Greens are rightfully ecstatic about raising their primary vote to 21 per cent, a remarkable result, buoyed I suspect by the protest vote that had nowhere else to go.
Angela Pollard of the Animal Justice Party successfully got her message out there and collected a respectable 3 per cent of the vote.
One Nation’s Mr Smith picked up 6 per cent of the vote; achieving electoral funding and greatly assisting his party achieve a Senate spot (God help us).
Russell Killarney put in his usual solid performance for the Christian Democrats.
I know Mathew Fraser will be disappointed but he presented himself very well. Events that transpired were largely out of his control, but all major parties spin doctor ‘whoppers’ in elections.
This time Labor’s ‘whoppers’ were better than the Nats. They just outmaneuvered your side Matthew and voters simply weren’t prepared to trust Turnbull when it came to Medicare. No matter what he said.
Hospital and health were flagged by the local media as the big issues even before the campaign in Richmond had begun.
It would have been strategically better Mathew had you been strong on this front right from the start and as a suggestion next time, avoid ‘jobs and growth’, a very ‘worn out’ political slogan, that few voters believe any politician can deliver in Richmond.
However I cannot agree more with you that our compulsory preferential voting system is wrong, forcing voters in the end (most cases) to vote for one or other of the two big parties to maintain a valid vote.
Justine however will be in a wheelchair before the Greens amass enough votes to overtake her and you will be on a walking stick before either of the two big parties change the voting system for the Lower House.
With 25-30 per cent of people now voting against major parties, such a voting change would blow the two party duopoly off the face of the political map.
Might pay to run as an Independent next time Matthew given your views on our political voting system’s problems?
T. Sharples, Tweed Heads
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
