SA state election: A look at the Mount Gambier electorate

VOTERS in Mt Gambier are dubious of being taken for a ride by major parties handing out election sweeteners. We take a closer look at the electorate.

• Troy Bell dishonesty case delayed until after election
• SA Best announce Kate Amoroso as candidate for Mt Gambier

IT is home to a dormant volcano and a political scene that is usually just as benign. But Mt Gambier erupted in scandal last year when its sitting MP was charged with siphoning more than $2 million of taxpayer funds.

The electorate has fought to be more than just headlines since former Liberal, now independent MP, Troy Bell was charged with 26 criminal offences — which he emphatically denies.

The usually conservative seat looks likely to be retained by Mr Bell, according to recent polls, and could hold the key to who governs in an election as unpredictable as a night at the local nightclub, Shadows.

One thing is for certain — Mt Gambier business leaders want the seat to be taken more seriously and they want a commitment to jobs growth, health and infrastructure, particularly roads, to create a prosperous region.

Mount Gambier Chamber of Commerce president Lynette Martin. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

The electorate is home to 34,515 residents — 23,898 voters — and covers a large farming area, which has been vocal on protecting the Limestone Coast from fracking, another key issue this election.

Chamber of Commerce president Lynette Martin said regardless of which party formed government, Mt Gambier must be taken seriously during the four-year term and not just “thrown sweeteners in election mode”.

“We really need the government to acknowledge the value of our regions — we’re an amazing food bowl, we’ve got agriculture, aquaculture, and above all an abundance of water,” Ms Martin said.

“We’re a huge contributor to the state’s economy, but I think the government don’t really care about us.” She said investment in infrastructure would allow the region to capitalise on a growth in tourism, attracting people to Mt Gambier for its Blue Lake — a dormant volcano — vineyards, fishing and surrounding communities.

“Tourism is going to be a great economic driver in the future, and is so now given the Limestone Coast had the largest international visitation of the state in recent figures,” Ms Martin said.

“But in order to grow that economy and our region, we need investment and we need good infrastructure, roads and technology.

“There are signs along the road that say ‘country roads need safe drivers’ but in fact they need to have money spent on them, this is a vital.”

A partially funded $9.2 million plan to upgrade the Mt Gambier airport to allow for larger aircraft and additional services to the region, was also seen as a crucial infrastructure projects.

And an Australian Forest Products Association-commissioned poll found the majority of voters would support a political party that supported the electorate’s forest industries.

Ms Martin and fellow business owner Val Michielan raised jobs growth as a key concern and an easy way to fix this was for the “city-centric” government to decentralise government departments.

“When everyone is in one place thoughts tend to be localised, rather than being about the whole state,” Ms Michielan, owner of Lakes Resort, said.

Val Michielan. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

“We also need more manufacturing here — we used to have some amazing businesses but at the moment, wages are spread a bit thin. Employment is at the forefront of everyone’s mind.”

And despite the electorate’s political unrest, Ms Michielan said Mr Bell still had the trust of the community.

“The people that I’ve spoken to have trust in Troy Bell and I think the majority of people want him to be found innocent,” she said.

“I think we would hate to think he had taken the money, because he doesn’t seem to be the sort of person who would do that.”

The south-eastern electorate is a Liberal stronghold with a margin of 21.6 per cent, but a recent poll published by The Advertiser showed Mr Bell with 36 per cent of the primary vote and poised for victory on preferences.

The poll of 655 people in the electorate was taken on Tuesday night by ReachTEL for the AFPA, and had the Liberals second on 29 per cent.

Focus on Mount Gambier

WHERE: Mt Gambier City and Grant District Council areas, Port MacDonnell, Tarpeena.

HELD BY: Independent Troy Bell, who resigned from the Liberals in August, 2017.

MARGIN: 21.6 per cent
to Liberals.

HISTORY: Named after Lord Gambier, who commanded the British fleet at the second battle of Copenhagen in 1807. The electorate was created in the 1936 redistribution and was previously named Gordon between 1993-2002. Liberals won the seat from Labor in the 1975 election on a 15.5 per cent swing, and Labor never came close to retaking the seat. Instead, there is a history of electing independents. Independent Rory McEwen took the seat from Liberals and held it from 2002-2010, followed by independent Don Pegler elected for the following term. The Liberals reclaimed the seat in 2014 with Troy Bell, who became an independent himself in August last year.

KEY CANDIDATES: Liberal Craig Marsh, who is a real estate agent and former Bureau of Meteorology weatherman.

SA Best candidate is Kate Amoroso, a former ice addict and now anti-drug campaigner.

Incumbent Troy Bell will run as an independent.

Cory Bernardi’s Australian Conservatives party on Friday announced it would run Gregg Bisset.

Analysis — Can popular Bell weather the storm of criminal charges?

THE seat of Mt Gambier will attract intense interest, after the extraordinary political controversy sparked by its sitting member facing court on 26 criminal charges.

In August, an investigation by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption led to Troy Bell being accused of misappropriating more than $2 million of taxpayers’ money, throwing the future of the seat wide open.

Mr Bell, who resigned from the Liberal Party in August, will stand as an independent in the coming election and, if successful, has vowed to support either major party which delivers the better deal for the region.

And despite Mt Gambier being a Liberal-held seat, with a strong margin of 21.6 per cent, a recent poll shows Mr Bell looked likely to retain the seat, despite his looming court case. The Liberals will run Craig Marsh, while SA Best has fielded former ice addict, now anti-drug campaigner, Kate Amoroso, as their Mt Gambier candidate.

Labor may strategically field a candidate for preference votes for SA Best, but the move looks unlikely to remove Mr Bell from office.

Australian Conservatives on Friday announced Gregg Bisset would run in the seat.