Fires, floods and Covid shape voters’ feelings in Bega and Monaro by-elections
Voters who have been battered by fire, floods and Covid are ready to make their mark in two of four NSW by-elections tomorrow.
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Two gruelling years of fires, floods and Covid have shaped what voters in NSW’s south want from their new leaders when they hit polling booths on Saturday.
In what will be the first major survey during Premier Dominic Perrottet’s short time as leader, punters will have their say at four crucial by-elections — at Bega and Monaro in the state’s south, and Willoughby and Strathfield in Sydney.
The seat deemed most likely to change hands is the key south coast electorate of Bega, which the Liberals currently hold with a 6.9 per cent margin.
A loss in Bega wouldn’t cripple the government — but would be a worrying sign ahead of a full state election next year.
Candidates will have to prove they have solutions for those who have had their livelihoods shattered and homes burnt to the ground in the past two years.
Dixie Schafrin, who has run surf shop Saltwater Dream for 27 years in Batemans Bay’s town centre, said the ballot was “the least of our problems” following years of hardship.
A self-confessed “Liberal person” who lost her home in the horrific Black Summer blazes, she said this election she would vote for Labor candidate Dr Michael Holland because of the former obstetrician’s knowledge of the area’s health system.
Despite saying outgoing Liberal MP Andrew Constance was “absolutely great”, particularly during the bushfires, the downsizing of the local hospital was enough to turn her vote.
Bega’s Liberal candidate Dr Fiona Kotvojs has used Mr Constance’s high standing in the community as a springboard for her campaign, with her election material dotted with his face.
Dr Kotvojs said her campaign had run on local issues, and denied national dramas, such as the leaking of text messages where former Premier Gladys Berejiklian allegedly called Prime Minister Scott Morrison a “horrible person”, would impact voters’ choices.
“When I’m out listening to people, that’s not what gets raised with me. Roads and bridges gets raised, homelessness and housing gets raised,” she said.
Inland from Bega is Monaro, where candidates will have the task of filling the shoes of high-profile former deputy premier John Barilaro.
Even Labor candidate Bryce Wilson conceded Mr Barilaro was a “local boy who came good” in the eyes of voters.
Coalition sources have hinted at concerns that without Mr Barilaro their strong 11.6 per cent margin could be whittled down.
But Mr Wilson, who previously ran in 2019 when the Nationals won in a wipe-out, had no misconceptions about the task ahead.
“Him not being in the field, it definitely tweaks the equation,” he said.
“He made a big difference … but I’m not naive to the challenge. Every per cent swing will be pretty hard fought.”
An hour from Queanbeyan is the heritage-listed town of Braidwood, where local farmer Mark Horan said the amount of funding pumped into the electorate by the former Nationals leader could result in the party getting returned.
Leaning against a truck loaded with sheep, Mr Horan said Nationals candidate Nichole Overall, a local journalist married to former long-term Queanbeyan mayor Tim, “wasn’t known out here very much”.
“I’m actually fairly anti-party politics, I’d rather see a real good independent get in. But to carry on what John started here, it’s fairly prudent to keep going with the Nats,” he said.
One of the key issues for Braidwood mum-of-two Rose Ricketson is the lack of child-birthing services in the town, with no midwives in the area.
She hopes a new MP will address that, as well as climate change in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires which scorched the hills surrounding the town.
She said discontent over the government’s handling of Covid in recent months could filter down to local level, despite the former member’s enduring popularity.
“Given the Nationals’ vote goes to Liberal, and how many people have been upset with Perrottet’s response to Covid … with kids going back to school and lots getting Covid now, I’m not sure whether that’ll swing people away from the Nationals,” she said.
Farm manager Matthew Hulse, who runs properties across the southern tablelands, said “four years of continuous natural disasters” had shaped his views that land management was the most important issue in the area.
He wanted a government that would help remediate land to make it more resistant to drought, fire and flood.
“Yeah, we’ve had all that Covid stress too. But underlying that is this landscape,” he said.
”It doesn’t matter what your politics are when the fire rips through.”
EXCLUSIVE: ALP MAN IN BEGA’S BIZARRE INDIA RANT
A Eurobodalla Hospital upgrade would have been completed already if it was being done by “a team of Indians or Chinese”, Labor’s candidate for Bega claimed last year in a bizarre Facebook post.
Michael Holland, who was previously Eurobodalla’s obstetrician and gynaecologist, made the comments in a post in which he also criticised senior public servants.
The post included a reference to NSW Health secretary Elizabeth Koff as “Elizabeth ‘the Coffin’ Koff”.
Dr Holland quit his NSW Health role following a review of maternity services at Moruya Hospital, which he said was prompted by his appearance at a NSW Parliamentary Inquiry.
Advocating for the new Moruya Hospital has been a central part of Mr Holland’s campaign since he was announced as Labor’s candidate.
Dr Holland’s October 2021 post was made in a public Facebook group advocating for a “single new health facility” for Eurobodalla. In it Dr Holland likened NSW Health to a football team opposing advocates of a single new hospital.
“Despite the unlimited resources of their home ground at St Leonards Oval (a reference to NSW Health headquarters), the silvertails have lacked direction the past few seasons with too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
“In fact, a team of Indians or Chinese would have done the job by now,” he said.
The comments are in contrast to ALP leader Chris Minns’ support for local manufacturing.
Dr Holland would not say whether he stood by the language in the post.
OLD NEWS LEAVES LIBS IN HOT WATER
Outdated campaign material distributed by the Liberal Party in Bega has falsely claimed candidate Fiona Kotvojs is a current Oxfam director, despite Ms Kotvojs resigning her role last year.
The Liberal Party has copped the blame for the outdated candidate material, which had “concerned” the Oxfam charity.
The material, distributed in the Bega electorate, states Dr Kotvojs is “currently a director of Oxfam”, as an example of how she is “serving her community”.
However, she left this role in August last year. She had been on the charity’s Board for almost 10 years.
A Liberal spokesman said the party was responsible for the error.
Because there is no general “truth in advertising” requirement for election campaign material, the Liberal Party has not breached any rules by falsely claiming Dr Kotvojs is still on the Oxfam board.
However, a spokeswoman for Oxfam said the charity was “concerned that outdated campaign materials have been distributed”.
“We have contacted Dr Kotvojs and the NSW Liberal Party regarding those concerns,” she said.
Labor sources seized on the outdated material to allege Dr Kotvojs and the Liberals were trying to trick voters while “hoping no one will notice”.
“No wonder the Liberals have had Kotvojs and Perrottet in hiding all campaign,” one source said. The Liberals hold the seat by 6.9 per cent.
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