Mayo candidates to talk infrastructure, health and Murray River in last week of by-election campaign
THE River Murray will lead Rebekha Sharkie’s agenda while Georgina Downer spruiks infrastructure in the final week before the Super Saturday by-elections.
THE countdown to the Super Saturday by-elections will see the Liberals spruiking infrastructure investment in Mayo and the Centre Alliance raising concerns about the River Murray .
Liberal candidate Georgina Downer, who recently has had a conga line of prominent politicians campaigning beside her, will spend much of the coming week with grassroots volunteers at pre-polling booths and talking up local infrastructure projects.
“We need an interchange at the Hahndorf exit point and we need to address the congestion on the freeway at Crafers,” Ms Downer said.
“I will fight for up to $40 million of funding for the South Eastern Freeway so that the tens of thousands of people in our Hills community who use it can get home sooner and safer.”
Ms Downer, who said “you can always achieve more in the tent, than outside of it” will lobby the Federal Government to fund Goolwa Wharf revitalisation project, near the mouth of the River Murray.
Centre Alliance candidate Rebekha Sharkie told the Sunday Mail the Murray would also be high on her agenda this week, joined by Senator Rex Patrick to campaign on the issue.
“We are increasingly concerned about the information that is coming out of the state royal commission,” she said.
The SA-based commission has heard a raft of damning evidence including accusations of “scientific censorship” and poor justifications for key parts of the Murray Darling plan — and “no scientific justification” for agreed environmental flows.
“I will also be making sure that people know that the promises made by ministers should be honoured regardless of whoever wins,” Ms Sharkie said.
Voters will go to the polls in four other electorates around the country on Saturday — Longman in Queensland, Braddon in Tasmania’s North West, and Perth and Fremantle in Western Australia.
The by-election could have serious implications for Opposition leader Bill Shorten, who will struggle to avoid leadership speculation if Labor should lose Braddon or Longman.
Three of the five by-elections were instigated by Labor dual-citizenship issues and another, Perth, after a popular Labor MP stood down unexpectedly.
Mr Turnbull was in Longman yesterday doing his best to push the knife-edge by-election in favour of LNP candidate Trevor Ruthenberg, who has been on the back foot all week after it was revealed he had falsely claimed to have received a military medal for overseas peacekeeping.
The PM has also visited Braddon, as has Mr Shorten, where Labor’s Justine Keay will try to regain the seat she had to relinquish over dual citizenship.
Voters in Perth were forced back to the polls after Labor MP Tim Hammond resigned.
The Liberals have not even bothered to put up a candidate to contest the seat.
Just down the road in Fremantle, the Liberals have also not opted to run a candidate in the seat that has been a Labor stronghold for 80 years.
Labor MP Josh Wilson is expected to win back the seat after he resigned over dual citizenship.