Spot the difference in greenest, gayest seat

THE 100,315 voters in the Sydney seat of Wentworth aren't exactly spoiled for choice.

Malcolm Turnbull with his daughter Daisy at Bronte in his electorate of Wentworth, Sydney. Picture: Amos Aikman

THE 100,315 voters in the Sydney seat of Wentworth aren't exactly spoiled for choice.

The sitting member, Malcolm Turnbull, is a Sydney Grammar-educated former lawyer, a passionate advocate of an emissions trading scheme, sympathetic to the plight of asylum-seekers, believes the government should boost infrastructure spending to ease the pressures of population growth, and is calling for more resources for the treatment of mental health.

Labor's candidate is Steven Lewis, a Sydney Grammar-educated lawyer, a big believer in an ETS, has long fought for the more humane treatment of refugees, thinks an increase in national infrastructure spending is crucial in the coming years, and nominates mental health as a priority issue in his area.

The final option - if you discount the minor parties and independents - is Greens candidate Matthew Robertson, 26. He has a law degree, has worked extensively with asylum-seekers, and wants to "see real action on climate change".

It may be a case of spot-the-difference, but it's also a recognition that Wentworth is the greenest, gayest, arguably the most socially progressive, and perhaps the wealthiest electorate per capita in Australia. It has never been held by Labor, and is held by the Liberals by a margin of 3.9 per cent. It's also the nation's smallest electorate, at just 30sq km, taking in inner-city suburbs such as Darlinghurst, and the exclusive seaside areas of Vaucluse, Bondi and Clovelly.

Mr Lewis cut his teeth on student politics in Sydney in the late 1970s, when he locked horns with a young and "extreme" Tony Abbott. He worked as a senior executive for travel company Jetset before becoming a class action lawyer with Slater & Gordon. The 53-year-old married father of three says Mr Turnbull has lost appeal within Wentworth because his views don't sit well with those of Mr Abbott.

"'Malcolm is a lonely voice within his own party," he said yesterday.

The Labor candidate will be helped by the flow of preferences from the Greens, which polled almost 15 per cent of the primary vote in Wentworth at the 2007 election.

Mr Turnbull remains a firm believer in the need for an ETS - a commitment that cost him the Liberal leadership last year - but defends Mr Abbott's approach to climate change.

Mr Turnbull, 56, says he has "no regrets" about his decision to remain in politics after earlier vowing to bow out.