All candidates and ballot draw for seats of Gilmore, Whitlam, Cunningham revealed

Candidates from the Cunningham, Gilmore and Whitlam electorates gathered in the Illawarra on Wednesday, for the official ballot draw ahead of the federal election.

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Candidates from the Cunningham, Gilmore and Whitlam electorates gathered in Wollongong today, for the official ballot draw ahead of the federal election.

Six candidates will run for the seat of Cunningham, seven in the seat of Gilmore and six in the seat of Whitlam.

CUNNINGHAM

Liberal candidate Chris Atlee placed number one on the ballot paper, after entering the race to the federal election on Monday, while incumbent Labor MP Sharon Bird placed third on the ballot, below Greens candidate Rowan Huxtable.

Liberal candidate for Cunningham Chris Atlee.

Mr Atlee ran unsuccessfully in the state election for the seat of Keira and is the owner of a comic book cafe in Wollogong.

Despite entering the race late, Mr Atlee said he wasn’t worried about his campaign starting just a few weeks before the election.

“I’m feeling pretty good, where I’ve got an advantage is that I’ve been in the community a number of years,” he said.

“I don’t look at it as if I’m starting from behind.”

Mr Atlee said he was looking forward to his campaign ramping up in the coming weeks and promised some strong announcements were on the way.

“I’ve got a very good team behind me, obviously im doing as much as I can as a business owner and I’ve got an opponent [Incumbent Labor MP Sharon Bird] who’s getting paid to run,” he said.

“But there are a number of announcements we are working on. I’m in discussions with the party and there’s lots of good news coming soon.”

ORDER OF THE BALLOT:

1. Chris Atlee- LIBERAL

2. Rowan Huxtable- THE GREENS

3. Sharon Bird- LABOR

4. John Flanagan- NON-CUSTODIAL PARENTS PARTY

5. John Gill (SUSTAINABLE AUSTRALIA PARTY

6. Grace Louise Younger- UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY

GILMORE

Independent candidate Grant Schultz placed ahead of his main rivals on the ballot paper and said he was pleased with the outcome.

Independent candidate for Gilmore Grant Schultz at the Ballot draw.

Mr Schultz was on hand to watch the draw on Wednesday in Wollongong, taking second position on the ballot. Labor’s Fiona Phillips took fourth spot, while Nationals candidate Katrina Hodgkinson took sixth spot. The Prime Minister’s Liberal pick for the seat, Warren Mundine, took the last spot on the ballot in seventh position.

Mr Mundine was not present at the draw, as he was being endorsed by former Prime Minister John Howard in Nowra. Mr Howard’s visit comes after retiring Liberal MP Ann Sudmalis threw her support behind Ms Hodgkinson’s candidacy.

Mr Schultz said the fact Ms Sudmalis, as well as former Liberal MPs Jo Gash and John Sharp, had endorsed Ms Hodgkinson, rather than Mr Mundine was “appalling”.

“I really feel for Warren Mundine frankly, I think his treatment by those MPs is appalling,” he said.

“If they feel the Liberal party does not represent them, or their values, then they should do what I did and resign from the party.”

Mr Schultz resigned from the Liberal Party after Scott Morrison parachuted former Labor boss Warren Mundine into the electorate, endorsing him as the candidate.

ORDER OF THE BALLOT:

1. Carmel McCallum- THE GREENS

2. Grant Schultz- INDEPENDENT

3. Milton Leslight- UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY

4. Fiona Phillips- LABOR

5. Serah Kolukulapally- CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY

6. Katrina Hodgkinson- NATIONALS

7. Warren Mundine- LIBERAL

WHITLAM

Incumbent Labor MP Stephen Jones, who’s held the seat of Whitlam since 2010, said he was disappointed the Liberals did not nominate a candidate for the federal election.

Whitlam MP Stephen Jones at the ballot draw on Wednesday.

“There are three state Liberal seats inside my federal electorate so they can’t say they don’t have a significant presence here in the Illawarra,” he said.

“I don’t think it sends a very good signal to the people of this area that the Liberal Party has got something to say to the people of the Illawarra and Southern Highlands.”

Mr Jones, who took fourth spot on the ballot, said he wasn’t phased about where his name was placed.

“I don’t think where you fall on the ballot paper matters that much, I think it’s what you do everyday for the three years if you’re an elected member or everyday throughout the campaign,” he said.

Stephen Wentworth, the Nationals new candidate for the seat placed at number three on the ballot.

Mr Wentworth was confirmed as the party’s candidate on Tuesday, after James Harker-Mortlock was forced to withdraw his candidacy due to Section 44 issues.

ORDER OF THE BALLOT:

1. Angelo Cuda- UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY

2. Frank Rodolfo Nero- CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY

3. Stephen Wentworth- NATIONALS

4. Stephen Jones- LABOR

5. Jamie Dixon- THE GREENS

6. KEN DAVIS- SUSTAINABLE AUSTRALIA PARTY