Federal Election 2022: Anne Webster fights for a second term
Incumbent Nationals MP Anne Webster has secured the seat of Mallee for a second term and looks set to slightly increase her margin of 15.7 per cent.
Incumbent Nationals MP Anne Webster has secured the seat of Mallee for a second term and looks set to slightly increase her margin of 15.7 per cent.
Labor’s Carole Hart told The Weekly Times “it would have taken a massive swing” to shift Mallee away from the National Party, and she was still holding out hope she could increase the Labor Party’s margin over its 2019 result of 34.3 per cent of the two party preferred vote.
“For me, it was all about making sure the vote was competitive and people had someone else to vote for other than Anne,” Ms Hart said.
With about 46 per cent of Mallee’s 120,000 votes counted so far, votes from the regional centres of Mildura, Horsham, Swan Hill and Maryborough have begun to come in.
Lake Boga-based Citizens Party candidate Chris Lahy (0.9 per cent of the primary vote so far) looks set to be the first to be excluded from the count as preferences get distributed, followed by Horsham-based independent candidate Claudia Haenel (1.87 per cent of the primary vote so far).
Ms Haenel told The Weekly Times she was “satisfied I’ve given (the campaign) my all”.
“It’s been a great ride,” she said.
Ms Haenel spent Saturday moving between the five polling booths in Horsham, and said a lot of voters had already made up their minds.
Saturday 7.30pm
With 13,316 votes counted in Mallee, incumbent MP Anne Webster has brought in 53 per cent of the primary vote so far.
As of 7.30pm, 38 out of Mallee’s 97 polling placed had been counted.
Labor’s Carole Hart has brought in 15 per cent of the primary vote.
United Australia Party candidate Stuart King has brought in the largest percentage of the seat’s independent and minor party contenders so far, with 9.4 per cent of the primary vote.
Earlier tonight Mr King said he was “very confident” the UAP would secure a large increase on its 2019 results, when the party polled 3.4 per cent in Mallee.
“I’m confident the National Party margin will be reduced,” Mr King said.
Mr King has run a loud campaign this year, with dozens of volunteers campaigning in Mallee in the weeks leading up to the election.
Independent candidate Sophie Baldwin has brought in 8.5 per cent of the primary vote so far, while Horsham-based independent candidate Claudia Haenel has polled just 2 per cent of the primary vote.
Saturday 6pm
As polls close across the electorate of Mallee, incumbent MP Dr Anne Webster says she is “very tired” after weeks of campaigning and recovering from Covid-19 just days before the election.
She said she was “surprised how positive the mood was” during the day as she visited polling booths in Mildura, Red Cliffs and Irymple.
Dr Webster said she felt optimistic the National Party would increase its margin in Mallee this election.
“You can never really tell until the results come in, but the mood was good,” Dr Webster said.
Labor candidate Carole Hart’s campaign manager, Marg Lewis, said the party’s reception at polling booths in the south of the electorate – Bridgewater and Maryborough, where Ms Lewis and Ms Hart had spent the day – had been “positive”, and she felt optimistic the party would increase its primary vote compared to the 2019 election, when the party polled just 15.7 per cent of the primary vote.
Ms Lewis said the smaller field of eight candidates this year – compared to 13 in 2019 – would increase Labor’s share of the primary votes in Mallee.
Independent candidate Sophie Baldwin, who was also campaigning in Mildura on Saturday, said she had given the campaign “a solid crack” but felt unsure how that would translate to votes.
“It has been an experience. I’m not sure I would do it again,” Ms Baldwin said.
Saturday 6am: The fight for Mallee starts
MP Dr Anne Webster is battling to maintain her 15.7 per cent margin over Mallee as independents and minor parties vow to push the seat into marginal territory.
The electorate, covering northwest Victoria from Horsham to Maryborough, Swan Hill and Mildura, has been held by the National Party for 73 years and is considered a safe seat.
In 2019, Dr Webster’s margin fell by 4.1 per cent on a two party preferred basis, after she took over from former Nationals MP Andrew Broad.
This year Dr Webster faces another strong battle, competing in a field of eight candidates, including three independents, Labor candidate Carole Hart and United Australia Party contender Stuart King.
Independent candidate and former dairy farmer Sophie Baldwin has run a strong campaign, as has Horsham-based independent candidate and councillor Claudia Haenel.
United Australia Party candidate Stuart King has run the most visible campaign in the seat to date, and analysts suggest the party could pick up more votes than expected across the country.
Maryborough-based Labor candidate Carole Hart has barely been seen on the campaign trail after she contracted Covid early in the campaign. Ms Hart brought in 34.3 per cent of the vote on a two party preferred basis in 2019.
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