Bordered to the north by the Murray River, the electorate of Indi covers an area of northern Victoria including Wangaratta, Benalla and the border town of Wodonga. It produced one of the biggest boilovers of the 2013 election with the defeat of cabinet minister-in-waiting Sophie Mirabella at the hands of conservative independent Cathy McGowan, whose win marked the first time since 1931 that the seat was not in the hands of one of the main coalition parties. Indi has existed without interruption since federation and only ever won by Labor in 1910, 1914, 1928 (when Labor’s Paul Jones was elected unopposed after Country Party incumbent Robert Cook forgot to nominate) and 1929, from which time it shifted decisively to the conservatives. It was thereafter fought over between the Country Party and the Liberal Party (together with its predecessor the United Australia Party), the member from 1937 to 1949 being Country Party titan John “Black Jack” McEwen, who moved to the new seat of Murray with the expansion of parliament in 1949. The Nationals last held the seat in 1977, when their incumbent Mac Holten was defeated by Liberal candidate Ewen Cameron on Labor preferences. The Nationals contested in 2001 when Cameron’s successor Lou Lieberman retired, but managed only 12.3%.
The new Liberal member in 2001 was Sophie Panopoulos, a barrister and Australians for Constititutional Monarchy activist. Panopoulos married in 2006 and assumed her husband’s surname of Mirabella. Mirabella became noted for her aggressive parliamentary style, and was promoted to shadow cabinet in the innovation, industry, science and research portfolio when Tony Abbott became leader in December 2009. McGowan’s challenge to Mirabella arose out of a local activist group called Voice for Indi, which initially declared itself set on “improving the political process in the electorate” rather than mounting an electoral challenge. The group says it resolved to field a candidate after Mirabella gave their concerns short shrift, informing them that the real concerns of her constituents aligned with her party leader’s oft-repeated soundbites.
The candidate nominated by Voice for Indi was Cathy McGowan, a rural affairs consultant and former regional councillor for the Victorian Farmers Federation who had once worked for Liberal member Ewen Cameron. With McGowan to rally behind, the organisation proved adept at fund-raising and use of social media, and it soon became apparent that it was succeeding in tapping into a perception that Mirabella was a Melburnian careerist with an insufficient connection to the local area. McGowan’s profile was further lifted when retiring New England independent Tony Windsor told the ABC’s Insiders program that the “nasty” Mirabella was the person he would least miss in politics, and that McGowan was an “excellent independent” whose campaign he might lend support.
Also lending McGowan support was Ken Jasper, who served Wangaratta and surrounding areas in state parliament for 34 years, retiring as member for Murray Valley at the 2010 election. McGowan appeared to benefit from friction between the coalition parties spilling over from the contest for Mallee, which the Liberals were seeking to win upon the retirement of Nationals member John Forrest. Reports indicated that local Nationals had been quietly told they would not face disciplinary action if they lent support to McGowan.
McGowan went on to prevail after polling 31.2% to Mirabella’s 44.7%, which was down from 51.8% in 2010. This left McGowan well clear of the Labor candidate on 11.6%, down from 28.2%, and she was narrowly able to close the primary vote gap after picking up 79% of Labor and minor party preferences.
NB: Hat tip to Ben Raue at The Tally Room, whose Google Earth maps I’m using for the electoral boundaries displayed in the map above. Raue does tremendous work on his blog and deserves donations. Note also that you can get a slightly bigger image of the above map by clicking on it.
How dare someone say we are biological creatures and clean air is a fundamental need
[How dare someone say we are biological creatures and clean air is a fundamental need]
Because it’s not true.
… Although because of the same issue when the third Lib was elected, the Nat surplus should have been 7054 votes, or 3.6% of the PUP pile and so should be transferred as 581 votes of a surplus of 16312 votes, so the advantage from this is more like 2400 votes.
Which part of that is not true Dio?
[1938 Hitler was Time magazines Manof the Year]
That didn’t mean they thought he was a nice guy. A year later they gave it to Stalin. I read Time’s article from that occasion a few years ago, and it argued that Hitler’s star had faded since the previous year on account of him having blundered into a war he hadn’t planned on.
Diog
Go without air for five minutes then
oh shit are there actually a few PBers who consider themselves more qualified to talk about Science than David Suzuki ? my good dog
We don’t need clean air to live. It all depends on how you define clean though.
[1938 Hitler was Time magazines Manof the Year]
Which is not a title of honour but recognition of the person who has been the biggest influence on news and public discussion, for better or worse, of that year.
diog
We need air to live on. Dirty air makes us sick. Thus its a fundamental need to have clean air.
Diogenes
“Suzuki is really just an environmental activist”
That’s how Suzuki describes hisself.
Evidently you read his autobio before that comment.
This was, of course, before Time became timid and started making sure its POTY wasn’t anyone who’d cause too much controversy.
ppaptsef:
Oh I see, you think science is about listening to a Professor and agreeing with them without thinking for yourself.
That was about 50 years ago, science has moved on quite a bit since then. I tell my students not to believe a single thing I say, and I mean it!
Question everything and challenge everything until the theory is the only thing left standing, thats how you have to do it…..
[I’m getting a perverse enjoyment watching Sean attempt to lecture Psephos on WWII.]
I don’t think I’ll bother further.
[Which is not a title of honour but recognition of the person who has been the biggest influence on news and public discussion, for better or worse, of that year.]
They were too cowardly to name Osama bin Laden in 2001, although he met the criterion better than anyone else.
Dio:
To be fair I think he actually said we need air or we die, we need clean air or we get sick (or wtte)
[They were too cowardly to name Osama bin Laden in 2001, although he met the criterion better than anyone else.]
A perfect example of what I am talking about in post 912
Woohooo Suzuki ends campaigning against Abbott
Labor QandA next week.
Leaders debate
The Ayatollah Khomeini was Time Magazine’s Man of the Year in 1979. Being a nice guy isn’t a necessary condition for the award.
Well I enjoyed that Qanda, numpty questions aside.
Labor leadership debate next week! I’m loving this membership drive for votes – it’s given Labor more positive clear air than the party’s had in years.
[We need air to live on. Dirty air makes us sick. Thus its a fundamental need to have clean air.]
That is a meaningless comment without defining “clean air”.
Thanks Martin B, very interesting. I’d read something a while ago that convinced me Ludlam had a good chance of winning even if Wang was elected, but I’d forgotten exactly why.
[1938 Hitler was Time magazines Manof the Year
Before Time Magazine became a political correct rag, “Man of the Year” simply meant they were the man to make the most influential on the world… good or bad… for that year. Hitler therefore was an obvious pick
I suspect that if air is not at a suitable level of “clean” then indeed it will deprive humans of sufficient oxygen to maintain life.
In other words we need clean air to live.
Diog
Starting point for clean air as a definition. Generally (Volcanic Ash obvious exception) air that has no artificial pollutant particles in it.
Ah yes, but the Lib surplus to S&F, which then flows straight to the ALP is inflated by 6728 votes, same process.
So the ALP is benefitting by more than 9000 votes through use of Gregory rather than Weighted Gregory, and that is a winning margin ATM.
Suzuki: Well big business is not going to give GM away to the world’s starving
Scientist 1: yes we are (and gives 3 examples)
Scientist 2: our bananas are being developed through the Bill Gates Foundation
Suzuki: stupid grin that makes him look even more like the guy in Karate Kid.
Very close Brownlow. Ablett, Selwood or Swan can still win.
OC:
Yes that was a bit of a “Gotcha” moment for Suzuki (and not from a pesky journalist either, he just set himself up for it)
Diog
You mean Suzuki does not pretend to be perfect and all knowing?
This is a problem how?
Haha
Lateline playing adverts for Albo
“@abcgrandstand: BREAKING: Gary Ablett wins the #Brownlow Medal with 28 votes! #AFL”
Albo vs. Shorten is shaping up as a bit of a David vs. Goliath encounter!
Said pseph says the calculator will show Ludlam behind for most of this week, but the gap should narrow and he may get ahead by the time they stop counting.
If he doesn’t, they can add Weighted Gregory to the log of claims for Senate voting reform…
Ablett deserved it. He had a great season.
Quick, someone from the government pay that man $180,000 a year (part time), he was brilliant for the cause.
Okay serious question.
What stops the ALP Leadership ballot being fraudulently rigged?
?
Are the AEC going to be overseeing the voting process?
Guytaur
Fires have been with us since there were plants. There has always been particulate matter. It depends how much you are using for your definition.
And we don’t have clean air now using your definition and there are more humans than ever and they are living longer than ever.
“@CliveFPalmer: Incompetent WA Premier Colin Barnett wants @TonyAbbottMHR to increase the GST to fix his own economic mess #auspol”
Clive not impressed
They called his father “God” so do they call him Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
Son of God.
Diogenes
The comment is full of meaning without the need for any definition of clean air.
If one was to put the proposition that a supply of uncontaminated (ie “clean”) food is a fundamental need, then it would be a fairly weak counter to argue that it depends on “what do you mean by contamination”.
Ha ha ….a coup for Abbott!
He gets the Climate Commission to work for free, already starting to save money with no diminution in service! 🙂
Ablett is easily the best player in the AFL and deserved it.
[They called his father “God” so do they call him Jesus or the Holy Spirit?]
SOG.
Interesting that people focus on the Time magazine naming Hitler man of the year and not on the American industrialists providing him equipment for his war
Diog
We have that recent report about coal particulates in the Hunter Valley.
We know car exhaust can beas dangerous as smoking.
Its time we made economics take a less dominant role in our society.
Note I say less dominant. Not a nonexistent role
What stops the ALP Leadership ballot being fraudulently rigged?
Run a flag up a pole and see who salutes?
“@beneltham: Massive news revealed by #lateline : Climate Commission to continue on voluntary basis despite Abbott govt”
psyclaw
All of our food is contaminated. Again it’s a question of what the levels are.