Liberal Dr Rachel Swift and Labor’s Louise Miller-Frost fight for vital federal seat of Boothby

It’s the seat critical to winning the election – meet the two women hoping to wrestle power in an area from the coast to the Hills.

The woman tasked with ­retaining one of Australia’s most crucial seats for the Liberal Party will hinge her election campaign on improving aged care and supporting climate change initiatives.

Rachel Swift has revealed her plans to secure the battleground seat of Boothby at next year’s federal election and counter a resurgent Labor, which is threatening to end the party’s 72-year stronghold on the electorate.

Drawing on her experience fighting the West African ebola epidemic in 2014, Dr Swift will have a strong focus on preventive health measures and making sure the aged care sector is properly resourced.

“We need to shift our thinking about health care,” the Mitcham local told the Sunday Mail.

“It shouldn’t be a primary focus on treatment, it should be a primary focus on prevention and wellness.”

Dr Swift said measures were needed to allow elderly people to stay healthy in their homes for longer.

Liberal's Boothby candidate, Rachel Swift, says SA needs to shift our thinking on health care. Picture: Simon Cross

“Boothby is one the older electorates in the country, so if you haven’t had to deal with aged care for yourself in Boothby, you’ve had to deal with it for a family member,” she said.

And on the environment, she said: “Climate and aged care (are) the things that people continue to tell me are front of mind.”

She has also vowed to be a “very strong” advocate for the Murray Darling Basin.

Dr Swift, a Rhodes scholar with a doctorate in clinical medicine, will tell voters she can be trusted with complex health issues and climate change because of her scientific background.

Dr Swift and Labor oppo­nent Louise Miller-Frost, must balance the myriad needs of Boothby – one of SA’s most geographically diverse electorates.

The seat covers much of Adelaide’s coastline and a swath of southern suburbs, where new families are moving into subdivided properties and the government is splashing cash on infrastructure.

Labor's Boothby candidate, Louise Miller-Frost, will focus on building a cohesive community and tackling climate change. Picture Kelly Barnes

The electorate goes as far north as Millswood, and as far east as Belair in the foothills.

Recent boundary redistributions have not been favourable for the Liberal Party, and the seat now has a margin of only 1.4 per cent. Ms Miller-Frost is quietly hopeful she can snatch the seat, considered a must-win for both parties if either is to form government.

The Coalition holds a majority of only one seat in the House of Representatives and cannot afford to lose Boothby.

Most recently the boss of SA’s St Vincent de Paul ­Society, Ms Miller-Frost will campaign on grassroots community issues, as well as pushing for climate change action.

“I’ve worked across a very large number of communities, and I think what I bring is a lot of understanding of what their lives are like on a day-to-day basis,” she said.

Part of her campaign strategy will be targeting retirees, who are concerned about the future of their children and grandchildren.

“I’m hearing a lot from older retirees who are concerned about what is the legacy we’re leaving our grandchildren,” Ms Miller-Frost said.

“There’s a very strong concern about the climate changing, we know that this will have really significant impacts on the economy, on jobs, our future and our ­safety.”