The rusted on Australians: Why Hindmarsh booth of West Lakes Shore keeps voting for the same party at every federal election
This Hindmarsh polling booth has been at odds with its neighbours for years, but could peer-pressure see it turning to the other side of politics?
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A comprehensive Labor victory in the electorate of Hindmarsh could prove to be ominous for a Liberal Party fighting to hold onto power.
The West Lakes Shore booth has long been at odds with many polling places within the Labor-leaning electorate of Hindmarsh, producing a Liberal result at the last three elections.
Scroll down to find all of SA’s rusted on booths using our searchable table
But in 2010, the last time the party won the federal election, West Lakes Shore voted in long-time Labor stalwart Steve Georganas.
And the result could foreshadow a Labor victory in May with several voters in the western suburbs location saying they will be voting for Anthony Albanese’s party.
Trevor Clark, 63, Ruth Beck, 72, Christine Contencin, 65, and Kath Crossley, 47, will continue voting Labor.
“I don’t like ScoMo. He’s done too many wrong things,” Ms Beck said.
“He did alright with the pandemic at the beginning but then, for example, he said he’d ordered vaccines and he hadn’t, so what do you do?”
Ms Contencin thought Scott Morrison had “done a good job with Covid”, but not well enough to secure her vote.
While Mr Clark was begrudging in his Labor vote and said he was not expecting too much for either major party.
As a Liberal booth in the midst of Labor heartland, it was inevitable there would be some bleeding between the political parochialism.
According to the 2016 census, West Lakes Shore had a median household income nearing $1500 while nearby Queenstown earns 66 per cent less on average.
Where the West Lakes Shore booth produced a Liberal result, Queenstown saw Labor candidate Mark Butler double his Liberal foe’s votes.
A Liberal voter who chose not to be named claimed the reason for the booth’s political leaning was clear.
“Look around, it’s the area,” she said.
Despite her proclamation, Labor voters reigned supreme, followed by swing voters who remain undecided.
Georgia Sparshott, 55, Matt Goodluck, 47, and Brett Mahoney, 43, were yet to be persuaded.
Ms Sparshott, a Coles deli worker, said she had come from a Labor family but she was leaning towards a Liberal vote in May because of Scott Morrison’s handling of the pandemic.
“Considering the pandemic, I think he’s done a good job and it’ll take something pretty good for me not to vote for him again,” she said.
Mr Mahoney conceded he had not thought much about who he would vote for while Mr Goodluck said he found it hard to get passionate about federal politics.
“Essentially we get two choices in this country, and everyone goes about it with the best intentions and promises all these things which many don’t work out – I get a bit cynical about it,” he said.
“To be honest, it’s a bit of a pissing contest. They use a lot of schoolyard tactics rather than actually focusing on things that would benefit us long term.”
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