Nominations for the NSW state elections have now closed and the ballot order has been confirmed. Eight candidates have nominated to contest the seat of Lismore, a marginal seat held by Labor’s Janelle Saffin by only a two per cent margin.
Lismore’s sitting member Janelle Saffin (Labor), who won the seat at the last election when National Party member Thomas George retired, will be running again.
The last election was a three-way contest with the Nationals taking out first place in the primary votes with 39.7 per cent followed by a tight contest for second position between Labor and The Greens.
Labor won second position with 25.6 per cent and The Greens third position at 24.3 per cent of the vote. That was a difference of 635 votes pushing Labor into the winning position after distribution of Greens preferences. The two-party preferred outcome saw Labor win with 51.3 per cent of the vote, edging out the Nationals at 48.7 per cent. According to the ABC ‘The margin being used for Lismore is the two-party preferred count between Labor and National. As already mentioned, the alternative Nationals versus Greens margin would make Lismore a marginal National seat’.
The two key contenders against Labor for the seat are Nationals candidate Alex Rubin and Greens candidate Adam Guise.
The seat of Lismore runs from Murwillumbah and Kyogle in the north to Woodburn in the south and inland to Tenterfield, making it a very diverse seat. This is reflected in the final confirmed nominations of two independents who are based approximately 200 kms apart; Allen Crosthwaite from Tenterfield and James McKenzie from Eungella.
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers have put forward Matthes Bertalli from Tenterfield, who also has first position on the ballot and therefore might expect any so-called donkey vote. Vanessa Rosayro from Lismore Heights is representing the Animal Justice Party while the Sustainable Australia Party – Stop Overdevelopment / Corruption is putting up Ross Honniball.
The Echo online will continue to ask questions of your candidates, if you have any issues that you think need to be addressed email: [email protected] with your suggestions.
