Former PM John Howard concedes it will be ‘tough’ for the Liberals to retain Reid

Former Prime Minister John Howard conceded it would be “tough” for the Government to retain the seat of Reid as he hit the campaign trail with Liberal candidate Fiona Martin

Former Prime Minister John Howard was a hit with the older ladies including Nella Gatto and Tana Crisafulli. Picture: Toby Zerna

• Council forced to remove Anzac Day banners
• Guide to Anzac Day services
• Fiona Martin’s focus on health and fitness
• Sam Crosby promises $5m for Concord Oval

FORMER Prime Minister John Howard conceded it would be “tough” for the Government to retain the seat of Reid as he hit the campaign trail with Liberal candidate Fiona Martin.

In a sign of how crucial the seat will be to the outcome of the federal election, an upbeat Mr Howard walked down Burwood Rd, shaking hands with local business owners and even walking onto a bus at one point to convince commuters to vote for the child psychologist.

He was particularly a hit with the older ladies including Nella Gatto and Tana Crisafulli, who told the 79-year-old: ‘You look very good; better than you do on TV’ to which he replied: ‘Thanks, the wife looks after me’.

Mr Howard shook countless hands and introduced Liberal candidate Fiona Martin. Picture: Joel Carrett

He dismissed the suggestion predecessor Craig Laundy had left it too late to let Liberal headquarters know he wasn’t going to recontest the seat, which the Liberals hold on a slim margin of 4.7 per cent.

Mr Howard said he’d spoken to Mr Laundy whose father wanted him to return to the family hotel business Laundy Hotels.

“It was one of those difficult decisions … and I can understand that,” Mr Howard told the Courier.

“And I think he’s done the right thing, he had to balance his family responsibilities with this responsibilities to the Liberal party.”

Ms Martin was endorsed just six weeks out from election day while her rival Sam Crosby has been campaigning for over a year.

At one point the pair jumped on a bus on Burwood Rd to talk to commuters.

But Mr Howard believed the seat was still winnable for the Liberals.

“I think it is, I think it’s going to be tough, (Ms Martin) knows that, we all know that,” he said.

“But she’s a person who knows the area, who went to school here and has got a lot of family connections here and so I think she’s very well positioned and Craig is helping her.

“It will be a fight but in the end people make judgments based not so much on the length of time people are campaigning.

“I’m not criticising the Labor candidate but the fact that he has been in the field a long time doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

“In the last state election in the seat of East Hills, they had the same Labor candidate there who had been there four years earlier and he still couldn’t win.”

Mr Howard received a mostly positive welcome from shoppers in Westfield Burwood. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)

Mr Howard consistently hammered home the message that a vote for Labor would hurt small local businesses through higher taxes and cause house prices to drop further under the opposition’s negative gearing reforms.

“There are many reasons why people in Reid should not vote Labor but (the) overwhelming (reason) is the burden Labor would impose on small family businesses.”

“I can’t think of a worse time to discourage people from investing in real estate when house values are falling; it’s like pushing a drowning man under water.”

Mr Howard seemed hugely popular in Burwood and mostly received a positive response from punters who seized the opportunity to shake his hand or grab a selfie.

Eva Galic, of Burwood, said the Liberals were better for the economy and described Mr Howard as “a good man”.

But he wasn’t a hit with everyone and received a very frosty reception from Concord resident Mersina Papantoniou who was visibly upset as she gave him a tongue lashing for sending Australian troops to Iraq.

“We had no business going into the Iraq War with Bush Jnr and Tony Blair,” she said.

The Greens voter said the Liberals would lose the seat as the party had not paid enough attention to people from non-English speaking backgrounds.