North Shore by-election too close to call as Liberal party experiences backlash
THE North Shore by-election is looking too close to call tonight as the Liberal party experiences a backlash in the blue-ribbon seat.
Mosman
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THE North Shore by-election is looking too close to call tonight as the Liberal party faces a backlash at the polls.
Political newcomer Felicity Wilson is facing a strong challenge from independent Carolyn Corrigan and the Green’s Justin Alick.
Independent Ian Mutton is also gathering a significant section of the vote.
The Liberals are facing a 17 per cent swing against them in the blue ribbon seat after Jillian Skinner’s midterm retirement.
But the party is confident it will retain the North Shore.
“We are confident that we are going to hold onto the seat,” Ms Wilson said.
“It’s amazing to gain the support of the community to hold onto the seat. It makes us feel very humbled that we’ve been able to get that support.
“I think there is always a swing in by-elections ... that was the expectation that it would be close and that’s what turned out on the night.”
There was anger in the area ahead of the vote over the planned merger of North Sydney and Mosman councils with neighbouring Willoughby.
Traffic congestion on the Spit and Military Rd corridor was also a major issue during the election and Premier Gladys Berejiklian guaranteed that the Beaches Link tunnel would be built.
The Green party says that thousands of people in the North Shore voted for sustainability and action on climate change.
“The writing is on the wall for the Liberal government,” a Greens spokeswoman said.
“The Liberals used to be able to take the North Shore for granted but this election has shown that their business as usual agenda is unacceptable to more and more people.”
It wasn’t smooth sailing for Ms Wilson in the run up to election day. She was booed and heckled at a pre-election forum in Mosman and earlier this week apologised for giving misleading information about her residential history.
She admitted she was wrong to say she had lived in the electorate area for “10 years”.
Questions were also raised about her list of qualifications on the website Linkedin. She has denied misrepresenting her qualifications and said she has made it clear through the preselection process that she is still completing her MBA.
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