Federal Election 2016: Fiona Scott and Emma Husar bring sex appeal to Lindsay campaign

THE voters of Lindsay are casting their ballot with several key issues in mind. But there’s another message that some constituents feel they’re being quietly sold by both major parties: sex appeal.

Labor candidate Emma Husar and Liberal MP Fiona Scott are vying for the seat of Lindsay.

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LIKE most people lining up at polling booths today, the voters of Lindsay are casting their ballot with several key issues in mind: health, childcare, penalty rates, and transport infrastructure.

But there’s another message that some constituents feel they’re being quietly sold by both major parties: sex appeal.

The main candidates in the race for Lindsay are both young and fresh-faced. For some voters, they also have physical appeal. On one side is the Liberal Party’s Fiona Scott, the sitting member since 2013. On the other is Emma Husar, a local resident and well-known disability champion.

ALP Candidate Emma Husar greets voters at Bennett Road Public School, Colyton in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. Picture: Jenny Evans

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten with his wife Chloe and local Labor candidate Emma Husar at a polling booth at Bennett Road Public School in Colyton in Sydney.

While Ms Scott is familiar to locals as their member of parliament, Ms Husar is a relatively new contender, though she ran as a Labor candidate during the 2015 state election.

“The Labor Party has matched one with the other,” said James Lelliott, a voter at Jamison High School in Penrith, who sensed a deliberate “sex appeal” strategy in the choice of Ms Husar as a rival to Ms Scott.

The Liberal candidate, who has an MBA, was once famously described by Tony Abbott, then her party’s leader, as having “sex appeal” during the 2013 federal election campaign.

Lindsay MP Fiona Scott, casts her vote.

Fiona Scott enjoys a well deserved sausage sizzle.

The comments quickly backfired and Mr Lelliott said the seat appeared to struggle to shake the tag ever since. But this appeared to be a trivial issue for both himself and other voters in the electorate, one that’s held by the Liberal Party with a margin of three per cent.

Many people interviewed today said they were far more interested in electing politicians who would make real changes using their time in office.

Some, like Ron Percival, an elderly local resident of Penrith, were emphatic about macro issues. “The economy, mate,” he said. “We’ve got to do something about it.

Others like Camilla Vieira, a first time mum, had other priorities in mind. “Medicare, schooling, childcare,” she said.

These views matter not just to both major party candidates on the hustings here today, but also to their leaders, both of whom visited the seat this morning in a sign of their angst over the results expected to come in tonight.

First came Bill Shorten, who received a warm reception at Bennett Road Public School in Colyton where he bought a tray of lamingtons and handed them out to hungry members of his media contingent.

“And here’s one for Buzzfeed,” he said to a familiar reporter, handing over a delicious-looking slice of the cake.

Earlier he stood with Ms Husar and introduced her to voters. “She’s a fantastic candidate,” he said to a man who had stopped to shake his hand.

In an interview afterwards, Ms Husar said the past eight weeks had produced a mostly fair campaign. Asked what she would do if she won the seat, she said: “Get out to my voters and talk to them some more about what it is they care about.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull followed in a similar vain not long afterwards, arriving at Penrith South Public School in an unannounced visit without his media pack in tow. He stayed at the school with Ms Scott for about ten minutes and took selfies with supporters, though, as with Mr Shorten’s visit, hecklers were waiting.

After casting her vote this morning Ms Scott said she was confident of winning today and said she was proud of the region. “I hope to be blessed with another term in government,” she said.