Created at federation, the electorate of Bendigo currently extends from the city itself south to Castlemaine and the Macedon Ranges around Woodend, also taking in smaller rural centres to the west and north. The redistribution to take effect at the next election has added the Macedon Ranges area from McEwen in the electorate’s south-east, and transferred Maryborough and its surrounds to Wannon in the west. The changes respectively affect about 7000 and 10,000 voters but have only a negligible impact on the Labor margin, which goes from 9.5% to 9.4%.
Bendigo was first won by Labor in 1913, having earlier been in Protectionist and Liberal hands. Billy Hughes contested the seat as the Nationalist Prime Minister in the wake of the Labor split of 1917, having recognised he would be unable to retain his existing safe Labor seat of West Sydney, and succeeded in unseating Labor incumbent Alfred Hampson with a 12.5% swing. Hughes would remain member for five years before moving to North Sydney. Bendigo was in conservative hands thereafter until 1949, except when Richard Keane held it for a term after Labor came to office in 1929. George Rankin gained the seat for the Country Party when United Australia Party incumbent Eric Harrison retired in 1937.
Bendigo emerged with the curious of distinction of being gained by Labor when it lost office in 1949, and next lost by them when they finally returned to power in 1972. The win in 1949 resulted from the redistribution giving effect to the enlargement of parliament, which accommodated the state’s northern rural reaches in the new seat of Murray and transferred Castlemaine and Maryborough to Bendigo. John Bourchier won the seat for the Liberals against the trend of a substantial pro-Labor swing in Victoria in 1972, which was variously put down to the entry of a popular Country Party candidate and attacks on Labor member David Kennedy over state aid and his liberal position on abortion. Bourchier would in turn hold the seat until the Fraser government’s defeat in 1983.
Bendigo was then held for Labor by future Victorian Premier John Brumby, who served for three terms before joining Victorian Labor’s extensive casualty list at the 1990 election. Bruce Reid served for three terms as Liberal member until his retirement in 1998, when Labor’s Steve Gibbons, a former Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union official and electorate officer to Brumby, gained the seat with a swing of 4.4%. Gibbons came within 1.0% of defeat at the 2004 election before enjoying consecutive swings of 5.2% and 3.4% in 2007 and 2010. After announcing in September 2011 he would not seek another term, Gibbons became less disciplined in his public pronouncements, proclaiming on Twitter that Kevin Rudd was a “psychopath”, Tony Abbott a “douchebag”, Julie Bishop a “narcissistic bimbo”, and Australia Day an “Invasion Day” celebrated by “throwing bits of dead animals on a cooking fire just like the people we dispossessed”.
Labor’s new candidate is Lisa Chesters, a Kyneton-based official with the same Socialist Left union that once employed Gibbons, which has lately been rebadged as United Voice. Earlier speculation that the seat might be used to accommodate electorally endangered Senator David Feeney or even a return to federal politics for John Brumby was quickly scotched. Greg Westbrook, director of legal firm Petersen Westbrook Cameron, was an early nominee, but in the event Chesters was preselected without opposition. The Liberal candidate is Greg Bickley, owner of a local transport business. Other reported nominees for Liberal preselection were Jack Lyons, owner of construction business Lyons Constructions, and Peter Wiseman, a teacher and owner of a website design business.
ducky
If that were a Labor person the debacle would be written up as a”SLAP IN THE FACE FOR GILLARD” ad nauseum.
Zoomster – Landline today might interest you full of vision and hope and science
fess,
Clearly more articulate than the Member of Indi could ever hope to be!
BK
I blame you.
“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned,”
Mirabella’s cup of bitterness o’erfloweth.
Finally!!!!!
@abcnews: Labor triumphs in by-election for NT seat of Wanguri http://t.co/X21Gmdsd
BW
OK. I accept the blame!
SK:
True. 😀
Dio
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/unkindest-cut-restrictions-placed-on-doctors-20130216-2ekkn.html
This was the Canberra Times screaming headline today: “Unkindest Cut”.
Are these sorts of rulings against doctors common/usual? And therefore is this just tabloid fare getting sensational over something that, unfortunately, happens in the medical profession?
Or is this exceptional and should worry ACT locals (and therefore the CT should be commended for drawing attention to it)?
For nostalgia lovers:
The Chaser Decides Election 2001 Pt 1
your back Mysay!
“@vanOnselenP: My Sunday Tele piece today is on the pathetic way Abbott’s spin merchant (name withheld) tries to limit media, fearing long form interviews.”
Mr Rudd made an impact already
Gee things are going well in Qld:
[PREMIER Campbell Newman says he won’t reveal “for legal reasons” why he sacked a handpicked top department chief, but admits he takes personal responsibility for the appointment failure.
Mr Newman terminated the contract of main roads and transport director-general Michael Caltabiano on Friday and accepted the resignation of trouble-prone Arts Minister Ros Bates the same day.]
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/newman-takes-blame-for-failed-appointment/story-e6frgczx-1226579692832
my say
Welcome back 🙂
George Bludger @GeorgeBludger
Well, better late than never for the ABC: Labor triumphs in Wanguri by-election http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-17/labor-triumphs-in-wanguri-by-election/4523720?section=nt … posted 7 minutes ago
[“@vanOnselenP: My Sunday Tele piece today is on the pathetic way Abbott’s spin merchant (name withheld) tries to limit media, fearing long form interviews.”]
Why does he have to withhold the name?
Women 53-47 for the Coalition? Great news, men invariably vote for the Coalition more than women do, so I would love to see those stats (I wonder why they weren’t polled separately too, seems a bit sexist to me??). The real Coalition number (men and women combined) is probably about 49, I would wager, or somewhere between 48-49, on the pv.
[Ms Manison, a former Labor media adviser and sportswoman]
That can mean about five different things.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-17/labor-triumphs-in-wanguri-by-election/4523720?section=nt
A comely lady is Ms Manison.
Darren
It’s not unusual although 40 in ACT seems quite a high number.
It’s a good way to protect the patient but still allow the doctor to practice.
The circumcision doctor appears to have not given pain relief which is well outside accepted standards. Now he has to.
http://bit.ly/YozVYK (click google link)
[Newman takes blame for failed appointment
by: Sarah Elks
From: The Australian
February 17, 2013 12:44PM
PREMIER Campbell Newman says he won’t reveal “for legal reasons” why he sacked a handpicked top department chief, but admits he takes personal responsibility for the appointment failure.
Mr Newman terminated the contract of main roads and transport director-general Michael Caltabiano on Friday and accepted the resignation of trouble-prone Arts Minister Ros Bates the same day. ]
[PREMIER Campbell Newman says he won’t reveal “for legal reasons” why he sacked a handpicked top department chief]
Afraid of getting sued?
Most new governments allow a decent period to pass before they get their snouts in the corruption trough.
Give Newman his due, his governance was efficient in this matter.
Who now recalls the smug, arrogant contempt that Newman had for due process in his recruitment efforts?
I am sure some eager beaver MSM investigative journalist is on it as we write.
More than one Bludger, I seem to recall, pointed out that there were good reasons for good process and that Newman was taking big risks.
Now the taxpayers of Queensland are paying for Newman’s arrogance.
Matty D
you realise opinion polls like galaxy are not accurate right , only medias propaganda
[Darren
It’s not unusual although 40 in ACT seems quite a high number. ]
Thanks, yes 40 did seem high.
But I am very sceptical of all our newspapers these days!
my say
Very well said!!
Tingle on Insiders this morning believed that let a hundred dams bloom document leaking was a deliberate way of enabling Abbott to speak positively without having to commit to any policies as well as wette dog whistling to dam lovers that he is their kind of guy.
I take it that Miss Sophie and her party are going to vote no
Boerwar
Who are the dam lovers?
Matty
“Lol, Labor voters are so entertaining. Getting all excited about an NT by election win, when Labor already held the seat anyway, and still hold all of 8 seats in a 25 seat Parliament. I couldn’t give two hoots about this result.”
I couldn’t give two hoots about your opinion!.
Darren,
The Canberra Times front page consisted of a picture with “Brumbies charge” as the top two-thirds.
The bottom third was taken up with “Unkindest cut”.
A really classy rag is our Sunday Canberra Times!
[Darren,
The Canberra Times front page consisted of a picture with “Brumbies charge” as the top two-thirds.
The bottom third was taken up with “Unkindest cut”.
A really classy rag is our Sunday Canberra Times!]
It certainly has gone downhill since Fairfax acquired it!
confessions
George and Finns got the name. Think PvO was just trying to be respectful.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/politics-news/abc-admits-fault-in-covering-garrett-stunt/story-fn59nqld-1226579170330
Their ‘fault’, apparently, was in not giving the full explanation of the NSW Lib govt side of teachers’ strike.
An ex-Lib MP objected. Just one, note!
1934pc – yet you responded to it. I will laugh at all of you come September.
v
The Nationals, the ‘development at any costs’ brigades, those who want to subsidise farming corporations with urban taxes, the biodiversity haters, assorted scientific illiterates, a collection of simple-minded sloganeers, and rummel.
“@vanOnselenP: My suspicion is Coalition “media experts” hide Tony Abbott from long form interviews bc they worry he might say what he really thinks…”
The ban on homosexuality or to be more precise, with having sex outside of your own sexuality probably had a health basis. If you were a male homosexual then you were expected not to mate with a woman, to protect the health of the breeders of the group. I can imagine that anal intercourse with a woman was also considered ‘unnatural’ for the same reason.
Pre-antibiotics and condoms it makes sense. It makes no sense in the 21st century.
The same thing is probably the reason for most of the food prohibitions. Pigs carried diseases easily transmitted to humans, crabs in rivers ate corpses that were thrown in there etc etc. None of it has anything to do with modern living, except as an unwillingness to evolve.
[Rudd knows this is utter rubbish, Rudd knows he is lying through his teeth, Rudd knows that turning up on half a dozen different media shows in a week is destabilising, and Rudd knows that his various pronouncements this week are damaging to Labor. Rudd knows all these things and is a lying sociopath who simply does not care about the damage he is inflicting, as long as it improves what he believes to be his personal prospects.]
Quite so. It’s now obvious to everyone that Rudd is plotting another challenge and that his cheer squad at The Australian is preparing the ground. Another round of bad polls for Gillard will be the trigger. He won’t win, but the damage to Labor’s prospects will probably be fatal, and that’s what he wants, and also what The Australian wants of course. It’s a pity that Rudd’s achievements in office, which were substantial, will be overshadowed by his subsequent reputation as a lying, treacherous saboteur and rat.
Miss Sophie is quite unlike the charming Miss Sophie from Dinner for One
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zVd_VLO9xcc
[Peter van Onselen @vanOnselenP
My suspicion is Coalition “media experts” hide Tony Abbott from long form interviews bc they worry he might say what he really thinks… ]
Is he slow or what? Suspicion? “D
@psychamuse: http://t.co/Mk0xhgRu. Gold! This Labor woman got 65%, yep 65% of the PRIMARY vote in byelection.
normally if people want rudd labor primary will be 40%
if not
people have stopped listening to news ltd
goodbye abbott
And then we have this,
Russell Mahoney @russellmahoney
@vanOnselenP I always preferred the PM in the long form interviews. I think it is where she performs best.
Peter van Onselen @vanOnselenP
@russellmahoney agreed
[Peter van Onselen @vanOnselenP
My suspicion is Coalition “media experts” hide Tony Abbott from long form interviews bc they worry he might say what he really thinks… ]
PB has been saying that for at least two years.
It’s funny how slow the so-called experts are.
And Mr Van Onselen gets paid for this?
news ltd will be hoping for abbotts sake , people have not stopped listening to them about rudd
[Tingle on Insiders this morning believed that let a hundred dams bloom document leaking was a deliberate way of enabling Abbott to speak positively without having to commit to any policies]
This is my view as well.
Meguire Bob
Although I don’t enjoy pessimism, your over-enthusiastic optimism is nearly as hard to bear. 😉
“@vanOnselenP: Nothing funnier than TAs media boss complaining about frontbenchers facing long form interviews. Imagine that when wanting to run a country!”
Given who this is LibSpill?
Don’t forget that things are cryogenically frozen for the sole purpose of being brought back to life at a later date 😉
[PB has been saying that for at least two years.
It’s funny how slow the so-called experts are.]
Yes, we noted that the other day when PvO announced his suspicion Abbott was running a small target strategy.
What Liberal party has he been watching?
guytaur
Is PvO having an “I can see clearly now” moment?