Central Coast Decides: Polls close, count begins for NSW Election 2023
In the end not even the government’s “Lone Ranger” in Adam Crouch could stem the tide of change that swept NSW and left a Liberal bloodbath in its wake. Now the real work starts for Labor.
Central Coast
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Wyong State Labor MP David Harris has congratulated his former parliamentary rival in Terrigal Liberal MP Adam Crouch in what will go down as one of the biggest boilovers of the 2023 election.
Three-term MP Mr Crouch was refusing to concede last night but looks almost certain to have lost his seat to young Labor candidate Sam Boughton.
Mr Harris claimed victory for the ALP on the coast with a clean sweep of seats from Gosford in the south, through Terrigal, The Entrance and his own electorate at Wyong.
“To his credit Adam (Crouch) has fought really hard for the Central Coast,” Mr Harris said from Club Wyong where he was flanked by his ALP faithful.
“I’ve had a good relationship with him and we’ve worked together on some things. So he needs credit for that being the Lone Ranger.
“Under Gladys (Berejiklian) particularly he did well. I think his influence waned a little bit under Dominic Perrottet but look, we need to acknowledge people on the Central Coast stuck with us when other parts of the state didn’t. And we will be expecting, we will be resourced accordingly because the people here have waited a long time.They kept voting in Labor members so we now have to repay that trust.”
Mr Harris said after 12 years of a Coalition government, the people of the coast and NSW will not give the incoming Labor Party much of a “honeymoon period” before they expect to see results.
“I call it the curse of government. Government is hard. It’s a hard slog. I’ve been there and I know people hold you to account, so we have to, from day one ... get out there and start delivering,” he said.
Mr Crouch was still awaiting postal votes last night but it appeared his tenure as the government’s lone voice on the coast was over.
“It’s still too close to call,” he said. “But Obviously we’ve seen a major swing away from the government. The government has been in power for 12 years, these things happen. It’s politics.
“But at the end of the day I fought hard for our region and fought hard for Terrigal, every single day for the last eight years, nothing changes.
“I look at everything we’ve delivered for the region from one end to the other, from the hospital upgrades, school upgrades, the roads, the Terrigal Boardwalk, you name it, this government has absolutely delivered.”
Incoming Terrigal member Mr Boughton meanwhile looks like he will be sweeping out some other cobwebs when he wakes in the morning.
“This result has far exceeded my expectations,” he said from Kincumber Hotel where his supporters had gathered after the polls closed.
“I think the whole team is extremely proud of what we’ve achieved on the Central Coast and I think it’s a real message that the people on the Central Coast weren’t being listened to and that’s clearly shown in what’s happened tonight with the result.
“When I was doorknocking I met a man named Derrick and he said `what are you going to do for me?’ And he said `will you clean my cobwebs at my house?’ And I promised him that I would. So I will be over at Derrick’s house at Wamberal cleaning some cobwebs, that will be my first thing.”
PREVIOUSLY: LABOR LOOKS STRONG IN WYONG
Labor supporters across the Central Coast remain buoyant with the party expected to form government.
It comes as local MPS are likely to retain their existing seats with ALP looking to keep its stranglehold on Gosford, The Entrance and Wyong, while the Liberal Party’s only member on the Central Coast, incumbent Adam Crouch is tipped to be rolled in Terrigal.
The mood at Club Wyong in the heart of MP David Harris’ electorate was upbeat with supporters confident of a Labor win as counting continues.
The ABC meanwhile has already called the seats of Gosford, The Entrance and Terrigal.
Central Coast opposition spokesman and Wyong State Labor MP David Harris has called the region for the ALP. Mr Harris and more than 20 of his faithful were at Club Wyong tonight when the ABC and Channel 9 began announcing seats for Labor before calling the election a win for the Opposition.
With the other seats on the coast expected to be retained by their existing MPs it sets up the region for an interesting power shift.
No longer is the coast a Labor heartland under a Coalition government. Now the tide has completely turned with Labor MPs Mr Harris, The Entrance’s David Mehan and Gosford’s Liesl Tesch all expected to form government while the Liberal’s “Lone Ranger” in Terrigal MP Adam Crouch could be in opposition — if he retains his seat — for the first time more than a decade.
The mood at Club Wyong was upbeat as more results continue to come in.
POLLS CLOSE AT 6PM
A “steady stream” of voters have filed into polling booths across the Central Coast right up to the last minutes at Warnervale Public School where incumbent Labor MP David Harris is “nervous”.
He shouldn’t really be to worried, at the last election in 2019 he got more primary votes than all the other candidates combined.
But after losing to the Liberals in the 2011 landslide Mr Harris said “you always get a little paranoid”.
Mr Harris said the disendorsement of the electorate’s Liberal candidate Matt Squires just weeks out from the election — after the ballot papers were printed — would throw the usual two-party preferred vote out the window.
Interestingly, he said the One Nation party may capitalise on the vacuum left by the Liberals.
“It will be interesting to see what the result is,” he said between handing out how-to-vote flyers.
“One Nation will benefit. They’ve been saying `vote for us, because we’re the closest to the Liberal Party’.”
Disendorsed Liberal candidate Matt Squires, meanwhile, said he had received a lot of support throughout the last days of the campaign.
“I have been very surprised,” he said.
“I think there’s still a respect for democracy.”
Further south Liberal candidate Nathan Bracken and The Entrance State Labor MP David Mehan spent the last few hours of election day at Brooke Ave Public School.
Mr Mehan said unlike previous elections — where the seat was far more in the balance — local candidates had less assistance from Labor HQ and had to run campaigns more on their own.
“This election we were doing it on our own,” he said.
“I’m really pleased with the support we’ve had from local volunteers.”
Former fast pace bowler Mr Bracken said other than a “morning rush” there had been a steady stream of voters all day.
“I’ve been here, there and everywhere,” he said.
The polls meanwhile have closed with voting for who will lead the state, and the seats on the Central Coast now underway.
EARLIER: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LOCAL CANDIDATES
The Liberal party disendorsed its candidate for Wyong in Matt Squires in the lead up to Saturday but he’s decided to run anyway as an independent. Here’s what we know about the others.
According to the NSW Electoral Commission nearly one-in-four, or close to 70,000 residents on the coast have already pre-polled in this year’s ballot. Have you already voted?
GOSFORD
Incumbent: Liesl Tesch (Labor)
Seven-time Paralympian and former public school teacher Liesl Tesch, of Woy Woy, remains the almost un-backable favourite to retain the seat she has held comfortably since 2017.
Under Ms Tesch’s reign the once highly marginal seat has become almost synonymous with Labor and it will take a herculean effort — and a swing of about 15 per cent — to topple the sitting member.
It is almost hard to believe Gosford was once a safe Liberal stronghold for nearly two decades under former MP Chris Hartcher who lost the seat after an electoral redistribution in 2007.
Ms Tesch, a dual Gold medallist, won the seat in by-election sparked by the resignation of incumbent Labor MP Kathy Smith due to terminal cancer.
Hilary van Haren — The Greens
Lawyer, volunteer, mum and active community member Ms van Haren will contest the seat for The Greens and is standing because she is confident that government could “achieve so much more than the major parties have shown us”.
Ms van Haren said her career had provided insights into some of the most complex policy issues in NSW, including homelessness, child protection, affordable housing and the justice system.
“I have seen the enormous impact government decisions can have on the lives of individuals and on the organisations that support them,” she said.
Deanna Bocking — Liberal
NDIS and aged care worker, and former Gosford City Councillor, Deanna Bocking has been chosen to take on Labor’s Ms Tesch.
The former small business owner, who operated a restaurant and bar in East Gosford, is also well known for mentoring and coaching at Woy Woy Weight Watchers.
“I’ve always put my hand up to represent my community and advocate for important local infrastructure and services, previously as a local councillor, and now as the Liberal candidate for Gosford,” Mrs Bocking said.
“As we face the challenges in front of us, and look to seize future opportunities for the Coast, it’s more important than ever that we have a strong voice in the Perrottet Government,” Ms Bocking said.
TERRIGAL
Incumbent: Adam Crouch — Liberal
The Central Coast’s only standing Liberal seat has remained a coalition fortress in a sea of red largely since Mr Crouch assumed power from then independent Christ Hartcher in 2015.
The first-term MP was rewarded after his 2019 re-election when he was made government whip and later Parliamentary Secretary of the Central Coast.
The former sales director is now a seasoned campaigner and serves as a local figurehead for the Perrottet government.
Imogen da Silva — The Greens
The Green candidate Ms da Silva is running for the seat of Terrigal because she believes in social justice, in a fair Australia and where the voices of the people are heard.
“I believe it’s time to hold the major parties accountable for years of mismanagement and under funding of everything from social housing to health to education and infrastructure,” she said.
“As a beneficiary of free university in the UK I believe it’s everyone’s right to be able to further their education for free be it TAFE or university.”
Having moved to Australia in 2010, Ms da Silva has run research centres in universities and also her own business.
She is running on a platform of affordable housing, free local transport, free education including university or TAFE and restoring democracy to local politics.
Sam Boughton — Labor
Born and bred physiotherapist on the Central Coast, Sam Boughton is Labor’s golden haired boy looking to topple the Liberal party’s last remaining seat.
Having attended Holgate and Terrigal primary schools, before graduating from Central Coast Adventist School Mr Boughton completed his Bachelor of Physiotherapy at the University of Newcastle.
The avid surfer is running because he believes the education and healthcare systems are in crisis, the environment is not being prioritised, and the cost of living continues to go up.
“I know this area like the back of my hand. I decided to run for politics as the NSW Labor candidate for Terrigal because I want to be a fresh change for this community,” Mr Boughton said.
“I have spent years working as a physiotherapist where I have met a range of people from across the community. I have heard what is important to my community; good schools, adequately funded and staffed healthcare, and the protection of our unique environment.”
WYONG
Incumbent: David Harris — Labor
Perennially popular former primary school principal David Harris looks like a shoo-in to win his fourth term as member for Wyong.
Having lost the seat in 2011 to one term wonder Darren Webber before winning it back in 2015, Mr Harris doesn’t look like he’ll have much of a serious fight on his hands with the Liberal party yet to even endorse a candidate to contest the rusted on Labor electorate.
Doug Williamson — The Greens
Another former schoolteacher and environmental scientist in Doug Williamson is gunning for Mr Harris is Wyong.
Having lived on the coast for the past 12 years Mr Williamson previously contested the state seat of Swansea at the previous election.
He said the region was very much facing an “existential crisis” with sea-level rise, increasingly frequent storm surges, floods and bushfires every other year.
On top of this Mr Williamson said the fossil fuel industry and privatised power continued to hold everyone to ransom over power prices.
As The Greens candidate he will strive to remove Vales Point Power Station from the hands of multinational owners and address its toxic coal ash dump.
Matt Squires – Disendorsed Liberal
The father-of-six was sensationally axed by the Liberal Party just two weeks out from the polls based on some historic social media posts.
However Mr Squires has decided to run as an independent anyway and has vowed, if it comes down to it, he would work with an elected Labor/Minns government.
THE ENTRANCE
Incumbent: David Mehan — Labor
Softly spoken incumbent member for The Entrance David Mehan is popular with grassroots voters after years of listening to their concerns at drop-in sessions outside local shopping centres and doorknocking residents.
He unsuccessfully ran for the federal seat of Dobell in 2004 and the state seat of The Entrance in 2011 before finally securing the electorate in 2015.
Since then he has rarely looked troubled, extending his two-party preferred vote by almost a five per cent swing in 2019.
Nathan Bracken — Liberal
Construction materials account manager and former Australian cricketer Nathan Bracken is the Liberal candidate for The Entrance.
Raising two kids with his wife Haley on the Central Coast, Nathan has been part of the community for almost two decades.
“I know that this is the perfect location to live and raise a family, having had family ties to Berkeley Vale since childhood — it’s close enough to transport and services, but also home to amazing environment and laid back lifestyle,” Mr Bracken said.
“I want to help create education and employment opportunities for kids growing up here, so that they can live and contribute without having to go anywhere else.”
If Bracken doesn’t win this time around he will be fast becoming at risk of being dubbed a perennial candidate after he and former Gosford mayor Lawrie McKinna were trotted out by millionaire ad-man John Singleton as independents for the seats of Dobell and Roberston, respectively, in the 2013 federal election.
Bracken also ran as an independent in the 2017 local government elections.
Ralph Stephenson — The Greens
Former teacher’s union delegate and retired educator Ralph Stephenson is The Greens candidate to pressure both Mr Mehan and Bracken.
Mr Stephenson, who has lived at Bateau Bay since 1982, taught at Killarney Vale Public
School for 13 years before transferring to the behaviour support unit, where he travelled around the coast helping children who the education system struggled to accommodate.
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