Geelong state election 2022: Labor wins Bellarine, Geelong, Lara, South Barwon
Polwarth Labor candidate Hutch Hussein says voters have sent a clear message as the electorate officially becomes the region’s only Liberal seat. SEE THE LATEST RESULTS
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Labor candidate Hutch Hussein says her party has put on “a damn good show” as latest polling shows Polwarth will be only one in five Liberal seats in the region.
The Victorian Electoral Commission’s latest count had incumbent MP Richard Riordan in front with a two-party preferred vote of 52.62 per cent and 75.5 per cent of the votes counted.
This meant the incumbent increased the party’s margin by 0.6 per cent to 2.62 per cent.
A data entry error has been blamed for earlier reports saying that the Labor Party, not the Liberals, increased the margin in the seat.
Irrespective of the final result, Ms Hussein who currently holds 47.38 per cent of the two-party preferred votes, issued a strong message to the Liberal Party that Polwarth should become an ALP heartland.
Before Polwarth was called, Ms Hussein was judicious about her chances of snatching the seat from the Liberals over the weekend.
“A full count hasn’t been done in Polwarth yet, but at this stage we’ve got 48 per cent of the vote, and we’ve given it a damn good show,” Ms Hussein said to cheering Labor supporters and volunteers on Saturday night.
“So we put the Liberal Party on notice at this stage, that we want Polwarth, that Polwarth should be a Labor heartland.
“Polwarth has never been held by a Labor MP in 133 years, and never been held by a woman MP. We’re waiting for a final countto see if that will eventuate.”
Labor celebrates ‘sea of red’ victory in Geelong region
Geelong region Labor candidates and supporters are celebrating “sea of red” victory.
And, in one of the biggest shocks of the 2022 state election, the once-safe Liberal seat of Polwarth is tilting towards being snatched by Labor for the first time in its history, with ALP candidate Hutch Hussein commanding a thin lead in the seat late on Saturday night.
Thunderous cheers filled Geelong’s Trades Hall as the candidates for five local seats – Bellarine, Geelong, Lara, South Barwon and Polwarth – entered the local ALP function to a rock star welcome shortly after 9pm.
The contest had been called for Labor in all of the seats minus Polwarth, with Hutch Hussein commanding 50.7 of the two-party preferred vote (2PP) after about 60 per cent of votes had been tallied – forcing some outlets to reverse their declarations of a Liberal win in the seat.
By 10.30pm the ALP was ahead in the Bellarine with 58 per cent of the 2PP, in Geelong with 65 per cent 2PP, in Lara with 67 per cent 2PP, in South Barwon with 61 per cent 2PP and in Polwarth with 50.7 per cent 2PP.
Candidates, and likely now all MPs, Alison Marchant (Bellarine), Christine Couzens (Geelong), Ella George (Lara), Darren Cheeseman (South Barwon) and Hutch Hussein (Polwarth) all singled out the support of their teams and supporters at Trades Hall.
Mr Cheeseman, who appears to have wrenched his seat from marginal to safe despite predictions of a close race, told supporters the Labor victory was “very much built on the shoulders of all of us”.
“It’s not just those up here on the stage tonight, in fact this is a victory for all of you for the hard work that you’ve put in over many, many months campaigning for a very optimistic plan that the Andrews Labor government took to this election,” Mr Cheeseman said.
Returning Geelong MP Christine Couzens paid tribute to longstanding, retiring MPs Lisa Neville and John Eren for leaving “such a huge legacy for all of us”, ano also Labor leader Daniel Andrews.
“The privilege of holding office in an Andrews Labor government is extraordinary,” Ms Couzens said. “And I have to pay tribute to the premier who has been a tower of strength for all of us, having put up with so much crap.”
New Lara MP Ella George, who is taking over from Mr Eren, said it was an honour and a privilege to be elected.
“I would just like to say such a big thank you to everyone who lives in the Lara electorate, thank you for giving me your support and thank you for giving me this incredible opportunity to represent this community,” Ms George said.
“John leaves behind the most incredible legacy, and I know if I can achieve half of that in my time I’ll be doing good.
“The results today really speak for themselves across the entire Geelong region. What a fantastic outcome we have. I think voters today have really chosen Labor’s positive, positive platform.”
New Bellarine MP Alison Marchant, taking over from Ms Neville, said she had been “overwhelmed” by the victory following a long campaign.
“I remember a few months ago I was talking to people about why they should elect a Labor government, and I said to them ‘because we need decent governments that look after our most vulnerable and our workers’, and that was the reason I wanted to put my hand up, to put community first,” Ms Marchant said.
“Lisa left a huge legacy across the Bellarine, and huge shoes to fill – a lot of people told me that – but I have big feet so that will help.
“This is not our win, this is your win. This is everyone’s win. It makes a difference to people’s lives to have Labor governments.”
And Hutch Hussein, facing an extremely close race against Liberal incumbent Richard Riordan in the seemingly safe seat of Polwarth, delivered a warning to the Liberal Party irrespective of who would ultimately hold the seat.
“We’ve given it a damn good show,” Ms Hussein said.
“We put the Liberal Party on notice at this stage, that we want Polwarth, that Polwarth should be a Labor heartland.
“Polwarth has never been held by a Labor MP in 133 years, and never been held by a woman MP. We’re waiting for a final count to see if that will eventuate.”
Western Victoria MP Gayle Tierney capped off the victory speeches by pointing towards a likely two-candidate victory in the Western Victoria upper house seat.
“We all know that the lower house candidates generate the numbers for the upper house, so clearly in terms of that sea of red in Geelong and the Geelong region, it obviously means we will stand a really good chance in the upper house to at least get the first and second spot,” Ms Tierney said.
– Harrison Tippet
Katos confident booths have turned, Couzens hopeful for third term
Labor supporters slowly filtered into the Geelong trades hall on Saturday night, as a barbecue sizzled in the carpark and kids ran around the floor space which would soon be packed with nervous adults.
The first results started slowly flowing after 6.30pm, with Geelong Labor MP Christine Couzens taking two thirds of the first 156 votes, and Polwarth Liberal MP Richard Riordan nabbing half of the first 250 votes tallied.
But, it will be a long night ahead and too difficult to tell where the true results will lie until much more of the votes are tallied.
Dozens of supporters of South Barwon Liberal candidate Andrew Katos were also expected to stream into a function at Grovedale Tennis Club.
Mr Katos is fighting to win back the seat he held from 2010 to 2018, when it was claimed by Labor’s Darren Cheeseman.
Speaking from the function Mr Katos said:
“We’ve done everything we can.”
“I felt the booths had swung today, particularly I saw in Highton … a big change,” he said.
“It’s a different feeling, the booths, to four years ago.
“I’ve been on the winning and losing side of it.
“I’m fairly confident we can get the win.
“It’s in the hands of the voters now, we’ve just got to wait and see.”
– Tamara McDonald, Harrison Tippet
Couzens hopes for privilege to serve third term
Geelong MP Christine Couzens, who is vying for a third term, says she is feeling positive heading into the vote count.
“I’ll wait and see what happens tonight though, but if the people of Geelong give me the privilege of representing them again for another four years it’ll be a great honour for me,” the Labor MP said.
Speaking from Geelong West Town Hall voting centre on Saturday afternoon, Ms Couzens acknowledged her second term had been “very different” due to Covid.
“The Geelong people are really resilient and they understand that the lockdowns and the measures we put in place to protect people have been worthwhile,” she said.
“I’m not getting any real negative vibes from people about what we put in place.”
– Tamara McDonald
Liberal candidate ‘very confident’ he has the numbers to win back South Barwon
South Barwon Liberal candidate Andrew Katos is confident he may wrest the seat back from incumbent Labor MP Darren Cheeseman when the votes are counted tonight.
The Liberal candidate, who held the seat prior to Mr Cheeseman’s 2018 victory, tallied more primary votes than his Labor counterpart at the previous election, but was defeated following preference flows.
Mr Katos on Saturday visited multiple polling booths to meet voters, and said he felt confident an expected swing away from the state government would give him a good chance at regaining the seat.
“Look I’m feeling good, it’s been a long campaign,” he said while handing out how-to-vote cards at the Highton Primary School booth. “I’m very confident people see the need for change and hopefully tonight that will reflect at the ballot box.”
“There was a very strong independent down Torquay way last time, but Torquay is not in the electorate anymore, so that’s a substantial chunk of the previous margin that’s gone.
“I just feel there’s people out there not happy with the government, not happy with Andrews in particular, and I think that swing is certainly there among the cohort of the community.”
– Harrison Tippet
“I’m very confident people see the need for change, and hopefully tonight that will reflect at the ballot box,†says a quietly confident South Barwon Liberal candidate Andrew Katos#GeelongVotes#VicVotes2022pic.twitter.com/eLxzOKBJYx
— Harrison Tippet (@Hwtippet) November 26, 2022
Marles, Eren hit polling booth in last-minute support for Lara candidate
Lara Labor candidate Ella George was at Northern Bay College’s Goldsworthy campus in Corio on Saturday, where she was joined by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and retiring Lara Labor MP John Eren.
“A lot of people have been really happy to take our Labor party how-to-vote cards,” Ms George said.
She said she was receiving “some fantastic support” from the community.
If elected, she said immediate priorities would include ensuring Labor acted on election commitments for the electorate, as well as getting out in the community to hear what she could do to advocate best for residents.
“I think people at the moment are really feeling the pinch of cost of living and also there’s a lot of uncertainty around housing,” she said.
“I think that’s really important to focus on – those two areas.”
Mr Eren said he felt “fantastic” and “so comfortable” in handing over to Ms George, should she be elected.
“She’s just a fantastic candidate,” Mr Eren said.
Mr Eren, who has held the seat since 2006, said it had been a bit “surreal” being on the campaign trail but not for himself.
First time in 20yrs that I’m not voting for myself as Labor candidate but instead voting for a fantastic candidate Ella George - Labor for Lara!
— John Eren MP (@johnerenmp) November 26, 2022
Go well Ella! #GoLabor â¤ï¸ðŸ‘ðŸ¼ðŸ‘🼠pic.twitter.com/WTYjNJ41Wc
“People come up to me and congratulate me on my years of service to this area and wish me well in my retirement,” Mr Eren said.
“Twenty years is a long time in this game and I’m very privileged and honoured that I’ve been the member here.”
“It’s time to hand over to someone fresh, young and energetic, and Ella is that.”
Mr Marles said he thought the Andrews government had done a great job over a really challenging few years.
“They’ve led our state through in a way where people have stayed safe,” Mr Marles said.
He said Ms George was an “absolutely quality person”.
Bellarine indie Sarah Fenton (left) is hoping to be a (very bright) dark horse when counting begins, with favourable preferencing on most local HTV cards.
— Harrison Tippet (@Hwtippet) November 26, 2022
“For me, success is that we’ve made the seat more marginal, and we feel like we were heard.â€#GeelongVotes#VicVotes2022pic.twitter.com/P72IczC6M7
“John and I have been on this journey for a long time together so there’s something very nostalgic and emotional about this,” he said.
“It’s not often that a politician gets to leave on their own terms and with people making it clear how much they value his service.”
Lara Liberal candidate Ralph Krein was handing out how-to-vote cards at the Lara Community Centre.
He declined being interviewed, and said he was busy.
Outside the voting centre Lara resident Chrisie Sadler said she voted for the Liberals.
“I’ve always voted Liberal for a long time now,” she said.
“I find (the Liberal party) to be a little bit better, especially with the pandemic we’ve had.”
– Tamara McDonald
Lib hoping to make Bellarine marginal
Liberal candidate for the Bellarine Donnie Grigau brought out the big guns on election day, enlisting his proud parents to help hand out how-to-vote cards at a Leopold polling booth.
Mr Grigau is facing a difficult task in the safe Labor seat, but on Saturday said he was confident he would be able to pull the margin back towards the Liberals.
“There’s the swing that’s been well publicised, but we’ll see how it comes out,” Mr Grigau said. “The margin was blown out last time, but I’ll pull it back and see how far I can get it back by.”
“It’s up to the people, it’s not about my ego, it’s about the people. I’m here for the people, I’m not doing it for myself.”
Mr Grigau said the campaign had been “an interesting experience”.
“You work it out, you’ve got a good support team and you say you stand by your values and you let the people judge,” he said. “That’s the most important thing, people need a choice.”
In Barwon Heads backing Donnie Grigau @LiberalVictoria for Bellarine.
— Senator Sarah Henderson (@SenSHenderson) November 25, 2022
Donnie is a genuine local who’ll put our community first.
Today, don’t let Daniel Andrews get away it.
Vote #1 Liberal to fix the health crisis, reduce the debt and get rid of this corrupt Labor government. pic.twitter.com/iTEHv0coin
Independent Sarah Fenton hoping to nab a chunk of the vote
Independent Bellarine candidate Sarah Fenton is confident of her chances to nab a chunk of the primary vote in the safe Labor seat, and possibly cause some stress for the major parties with favourable preference flows.
The St Leonards resident, and owner of popular Bellarine Smokehouse, said she wasn’t just running to make up the numbers during the state election, and at the very least hoped to drag back the margin in the seat to send a message to the major parties.
“For me, I’d love to get 15 per cent of the primary vote and then see where that goes,” Ms Fenton said from a Leopold polling booth on Saturday morning. “I’d of course love to win because I want to represent our community. I’m not doing this for nothing.”
“For me success is that we’ve made the seat more marginal, and we feel like we were heard.
“If we don’t vote for change, we’re not going to get change. So we’ve got to be brave, and vote for change.
“I’ve been saying to people ‘next week, we will have a government, and it will be either Labor or Liberal. It’s about how we hold them accountable for the promises they’ve made, and that’s where we need a good crossbench of independents who haven’t been in micro parties and trading preferences, that’s standing there saying ‘we’re here for the community’.”
Ms Fenton took aim at “micro parties that have had nothing to do with the region” putting forward candidates and turning up “as preference traders”, and also “far right infiltration” of the election.
Bellarine Labor candidate pays tribute to Lisa Neville
Labor’s new candidate for the Bellarine Alison Marchant has said she has “big shoes to fill” in replacing retiring MP Lisa Neville, who has held the seat for two decades, but has said she wants to continue to “put the community first” on the peninsula.
Ms Marchant was handing out how-to-vote cards in Leopold on Saturday morning alongside Ms Neville, where she paid tribute to the retiring MPs legacy and vowed to continue advocating for the Bellarine if successful at the election.
“I’m ready to fill those big shoes,” Ms Marchant said. “Lisa’s been incredible for 20 years, a long time, and has left a huge legacy on the Bellarine.”
“People know she’s worked hard and put the community first, and we want to show a continuity between her and I that I’ll do the same. Community driven, that’s where I come from, my values, and I want to get on with it.”
Ms Marchant said she was feeling excited to finish of the campaign period and see results begin to flow after 6pm on Saturday, and was confident she would hold the safe Labor seat.
“The last two weeks on prepolls has been really exciting, there have been great conversations with people, they want to ask you questions before they vote, being really engaged,” she said. “It’s great, it’s a really good feeling.”
“I think most of the conversations I’ve had people are saying it’s been a tough few years, but they know we’ve done the right thing. We’ve made some tough decisions, but we’re getting through that period now. I say to people there’s some healing and some building still to do, there’s much more we want to do now, so we kind of try to tell that story, a positive story, for voters, and we hope that will resonate with them.”
Lara Labor candidate Ella George has been joined by Deputy PM Richard Marles and outgoing Lara Labor MP John Eren @geelongaddypic.twitter.com/1eqQgrL7bb
— Tamara McDonald (@TamaraMcDonald3) November 26, 2022
Ms Neville said she’d had “mixed emotions” this week, as prepared to end her time in parliament after 20 years as the local MP
“I packed up the office this week, and it’s been quite an emotional ride this week after 20 years,” Ms Neville said. “I’m going to really miss the job, but the thing I’m really positive about is we’ve got a great young woman taking my spot.”
“I feel good about that, and I feel good that Alison has that sense of community, so the things we’ve worked to do over 20 years will keep going.”
Ms Neville said she had “no doubt” the election would be a closer affair than in 2018 and believed her party would lose some seats, but said she still believed Labor would be re-elected by the time the final vote is counted.
– Harrison Tippet
Cheeseman weighs up re-election chances
Incumbent South Barwon Labor MP Darren Cheeseman is quietly confident of his chances to retain the marginal seat, following a “gruelling and long campaign”.
Mr Cheeseman was handing out how-to-vote cards at Oberon High School in Armstrong Creek on Saturday morning, as a line of about a hundred voters snaked its way across the school grounds.
“The mood feels pretty good, but at the end of the day it’s up to the voters,†says South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman as the polls open in Armstrong Creek. #GeelongVotes#VicVotes2022pic.twitter.com/pmcFUFYiTA
— Harrison Tippet (@Hwtippet) November 25, 2022
The incumbent MP is facing a challenge from Liberal candidate Andrew Katos, who held the seat prior to Mr Cheeseman’s 2018 election victory – in which Mr Katos tallied more first preference votes than Mr Cheeseman, but ultimately lost following preference flows.
Mr Cheeseman on Saturday was bullish about his chances of retaining the seat, largely due to the “big offering on the table” from a re-elected Labor government.
“Look, it’s been a gruelling and long campaign, but I think we’ve got a really positive plan for South Barwon and for the state of Victoria,” he said. “Certainly here in Armstrong Creek we’ll be building new schools, we’ll be delivering key infrastructure for the Commonwealth Games, so I think there’s a big offering on the table with the re-election of the Andrews Labor government.”
“We’ve got a strong case, we’ve been putting forward that case, and working the electorate relentlessly on it. The mood feels pretty good, but at the end of the day it’s up to the voters.
“I think there’s a very strong demographic change happening here in South Barwon, lots of young families moving in, and I think the really strong progressive offering of the Andrews Labor government is exactly what those communities are looking for here in Armstrong Creek and across Geelong.
Mr Cheeseman said he felt both relief and nervousness in the final hours of the election campaign, but looked forward to heading home after the close of the polls to take his dog for a walk, before meeting his colleagues during the count “to either celebrate or commiserate”.
– Harrison Tippet
CANDIDATES
Lower House
South Barwon
Andrew Katos – Liberal
Darren Cheeseman – Labor
Genevieve Dawson-Scott – Greens
Simone Tomlinson – Freedom Party of Victoria
Naomi Adams – Animal Justice Party
Jeynelle Marie Dean – Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party
Alan Barron – Family First Victoria
Leone Bates – Labour DLP
Lara
Ella George – Labor
Ralph Krein – Liberal
Courtney Gardner – Greens
Max Payne – Liberal Democrats
Sarah Hathway – Independent
Peter Kelly – AJP
Steve Rankine – Family First Victoria
Ash Taylor – Angry Victorians Party
Bellarine
Donnie Grigau – Liberal
Alison Marchant – Labor
Rachel Semmens – Greens
Sarah Fenton – Independent
Adam Cardilini – AJP
Brett-Anthony Ritchie – Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party
Guy Manuell – Family First Victoria
Brendan Taylor – Angry Victorians Party
Kylee Muse – Freedom Party of Victoria
Polwarth
Hutch Hussein – Labor
Richard Riordan – Liberal
Hilary McAllister – Greens
Denes C Borsos – Independent
Elisha Atchison – AJP
Joseph Vincent Remenyi – Derryn Hinch
Hollie Hunter – Family First
Geelong
Christine Couzens – Labor
James Bennett-Hullin – Liberal
Aleisha Smith – Greens
Bob Motta – Animal Justice Party
Angela Carr – Independent
Stephen Juhasz – Independent
Madeleine Parker-Hill – Family First
Upper house – Western Victoria
DE PYLE, Sabine – Pauline Hanson’s One Nation
PRYSE-SMITH, Terri Elizabeth – Pauline Hanson’s One Nation
FAILLA, Natalie Valerie – United Australia Party
RAYMOND, Keith – United Australia Party
GORMAN, Madilyn – Victorian Socialists
RANDALL, Abbey – Victorian Socialists
COLLYER, Ben – Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Vic
STANDEN, Graeme – Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Vic
COLLINS, Geoff – Companions and Pets Party
FISHER, Simone – Companions and Pets Party
BALDACCHINO, Judith – Australian Greens
BARNES, John – Australian Greens
MANSFIELD, Sarah – Australian Greens
van der VLIES, Eva – Australian Greens
ZIBELL, Linda – Australian Greens
PASCOE, Robert – Sustainable Australia Party – Stop Overdevelopment / Corruption
WEARNE, Madeleine – Sustainable Australia Party – Stop Overdevelopment / Corruption
BRIDGER-DARLING, Megan – Australian Labor Party – Victorian Branch
ERMACORA, Jacinta – Australian Labor Party – Victorian Branch
PAVLOVICH, Sue – Australian Labor Party – Victorian Branch
STOKES, Heather – Australian Labor Party – Victorian Branch
TIERNEY, Gayle – Australian Labor Party – Victorian Branch
HURLEY, Olivia – Fiona Patten’s Reason Party
SINCLAIR, Emma – Fiona Patten’s Reason Party
BECERRA-KOVAC, Flor Vanessa – Freedom Party of Victoria
KOVAC, Antun – Freedom Party of Victoria
MEDDICK, Andy – Animal Justice Party
WILSHIER, Hannah – Animal Justice Party
GRIMLEY, Stuart – Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party
O’BRIEN, Simone – Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party
CRONKWRIGHT, Dean – Family First Victoria
IKEH, Chioma – Family First Victoria
McARTHUR, Bev – Liberal
McCRACKEN, Joe – Liberal
SHEARMAN, Angela – Liberal
DUNN, Eddie – Transport Matters
KEARNS, Antonela – Transport Matters
BRENNFLECK, Angelica – Health Australia Party
LAZOS, Constantine – Health Australia Party
Di BIASE, Costa – Labour DLP
SKRUZNY, Ron – Labour DLP
DAVE, Hardik Bipinchandra – New Democrats
GOMEZ BENITEZ, Cecilia – New Democrats
KACHHIA, Vijaykumar – New Democrats
PATEL, Jaymik Mahendrakumar – New Democrats
BARKER, Paul – Liberal Democrats
McGRATH, Julia – Liberal Democrats
DOWLING, Andrew – Legalise Cannabis Victoria
HUMPHREY, Melanie – Legalise Cannabis Victoria
LETTS, Robert – The Nationals
RANK, Anita – The Nationals
BEECK, Richard – Angry Victorians Party
BURSON, Chris – Angry Victorians Party
CELIKDOGEN, Ismail Efe – Sack Dan Andrews Restore Democracy
FINNIGAN, Jake Patrick – Sack Dan Andrews Restore Democracy
ORHAN, Sinan – Sack Dan Andrews Restore Democracy
HELLMUTH, Storm – Independent
More Coverage
Originally published as Geelong state election 2022: Labor wins Bellarine, Geelong, Lara, South Barwon
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