Seat of the week: Murray

The northern Victorian seat of Murray is one of a number of seats in rural New South Wales and Victoria which have drifted from the Nationals to the Liberals after long-serving sitting members retired, Sharman Stone having secured the seat once held by Jack McEwen in 1996.

Blue numbers indicate size of two-party majority for the Liberal Party. Click for larger image. Map boundaries courtesy of Ben Raue at The Tally Room.

Murray covers central northern Victoria including a 200 kilometre stretch of the river that bears its name, from Gunbower east through Echuca to Yarrawonga and Bundalong. From there it extends southwards into the Goulburn Valley region as far as Inglewood in the west and Nagambie and Euroa in the east. Its largest population centre by a considerable margin is Shepparton, home to about a third of its population, followed by Echuca, which accounts for about 10%. The electorate was created with the expansion of parliament in 1949, but its boundaries resembled those of Echuca which existed from federation until its abolition in 1937, when its territory was divided between Bendigo in the west and Indi in the east. Its dimensions have not substantially changed at any time since 1949, apart from a slight reorientation westwards when the electorate of Wimmera was abolished in 1984.

The area in question was the domain of the Country Party from its formation in 1920 until 1996, when Sharman Stone won Murray for the Liberals upon the retirement of Nationals member Bruce Lloyd. John McEwen began his federal parliamentary career as the member for Echuca in 1934 before moving to Indi when it was abolished the following term, then transferred to Murray in 1949 and remained there until his retirement in 1971. McEwen served as leader of the Country Party after 1958 and, for three weeks following Harold Holt’s disappearance at the end of 1967, Prime Minister. McEwen was succeeded on his retirement in 1971 by Bruce Lloyd, who held the seat until 1996. In a sadly typical outcome for the Nationals, the seat fell to the Liberals when Lloyd retired in 1996, Sharman Stone outpolling the Nationals candidate 43.2% to 29.7% and prevailing by 3.7% after the distribution of preferences. The Liberals had intermittently fielded candidates against Lloyd throughout his career, but always finished third behind Labor.

Sharman Stone served as a parliamentary secretary from after the 1998 election until January 2006, when she was promoted to the junior ministry as Workforce Participation Minister. After the 2007 election defeat she assumed environment, heritage, the arts and indigenous affairs, the first named being shared with shadow cabinet member Greg Hunt, before being promoted to shadow cabinet in the immigration and citizenship portfolio when Malcolm Turnbull became leader in September 2008. However, she was demoted to the outer shadow ministry position of early childhood education and childcare when Turnbull was replaced by Tony Abbott in December 2009, having supported Turnbull during Abbott’s leadership challenge, and relegated to the back bench after the 2010 election. In February 2014, Stone accused Abbott of Joe Hockey of lying about union conditions for workers at the SPC Ardmona cannery in Shepparton after the government’s rejection of a bid for $25 million in assistance put the future of its 2700 jobs in doubt. When asked at the time if she intended to remain in the Liberal Party, Stone said only that it was “to be seen how things pan out”.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

598 comments on “Seat of the week: Murray”

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  1. Strange how the budget legislation passed the HoR without any Liberals crossing the floor, but there’s several considering this in the Senate.

  3. [It will be interesting to watch the ALP over the next few years as policy is announced to see how much they fall into line behind the Murdoch agenda.
    I’d hate to see a desperate Rudd-like sellout to Murdoch from a Shortens ALP.]

    *yawn*

  4. WWP

    [I’d hate to see a desperate Rudd-like sellout to Murdoch from a Shortens ALP.

    You just can’t help yourself can you – like an itch or twitch that is involuntary – pathetic.]

    Agree with you! While we are dealing with an absolutely vain incomprehensible leader let’s talk about Rudd.

    Some people have very weird priorities.

  6. 151

    It is not a surprise that there is more willingness to cross the floor when there is actual chance of making a difference do to the tight numbers.

  7. poroti

    finishing off talk on WW2 RAF Pilots from yesterday.

    Some ‘wry’ observations from them.

    Officer: “Sergeant-Pilots always had the best aircraft due to messing with the senior mechanics and air frame fitters. And Sergeant-Pilots rarely ‘claimed’. ‘The guy you’re talking about was one of two Mustangs escorting 3 Lancaster’s back from Turin. Before ditching he knocked down 2 Messerschmidt Night Fighters. Generally believed to have scored about 15 over the 5 years’.

    Sergeant-Pilot: ‘By the time I splashed in Lake Constance the Swiss had worked out that the Germans were definitely losing. So no internment, just put on a plane to Lisbon, and then the ‘Mail’ plane home. Seven days and back at base. The Mustang had only been flown twice. Senior mechanic asked me did I know that he’d spent 3 days filing the valves and polishing the air inlets and that two Air-craftsmen had spent two days polishing the canopy’.

    …

  8. Zoomster #139

    i find myself in furious agreement with you.

    My Say

    Hi!

    I also agree with you about commentary on tactics.

    The journey back to the government benches is long. And I happen to think the Labor team is pretty strong and sensible.

    In the Melbourne cup, the first time past the winning post means nothing. (The jockeys of) The real contenders show their hand in the last couple of hundred metres, and if they’re good enough they win.

  12. CTar1

    I wonder if the Mustang is still at the bottom of Lake Constance ? After all that extra detailing I’d well imagine the ground crew gave him some ribbing over “splashing” on flight number 2.

  13. Retweeted by sortius
    Sean Parnell ‏@seanparnell 12m

    #FOI suggests @PeterDutton_MP & staff didn’t even bother writing to ANPHA re #Budget decisions on preventive health. pic.twitter.com/FsuEYkcN4H

  14. I still think its One Term Tony. He lied when asked questions on the social compact like social security and medicare.

    The budget has entrenched his lies and he cannot flip again to become popular and to appear that he has not been lying.

    As a result nasty liar is becoming entrenched in the population. By the time of the next budget his fate will be sealed. The usual bribes will not work. Tax cuts only work when people know they benefit. All the cuts done in this budget let alone those promised for the next one are not going away and will be there on election day.

    Its also for that reason that I think the chance of Abbott calling a DD are slim indeed despite the trigger the Greens are setting up.

  15. Grubbiness, thy name is Murdoch, using the SmearStralian for innuendo-based attack by implication of former PM

    [@NeilChenoweth: After the Oz commits totally to Nowicki denial @SharriMarkson says her father “backed up” Wilson’s $200k claim #turc http://t.co/xEaryriAUS

  17. “@latikambourke: RT @RANews: BREAKING NEWS: Arrest warrant served for #PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, in relation to fraud case.”

  22. poroti

    [I wonder if the Mustang is still at the bottom of Lake Constance ? After all that extra detailing I’d well imagine the ground crew gave him some ribbing over “splashing” on flight number 2.]

    Yep, Probably still in the lake on the S-W on the Swiss shore and a shiny example other than the Flack damage.

    It seemed they’d been at work on it so he could see and it would be very responsively ‘zippy’.

    He never said but I guess that his thought was ‘aircraft 9’ coming up.

    I don’t imagine that he could think other and survive.

    And I’d bet the Ground Crew did no less on the next one.

  23. psyclaw

    and others any thought on the greens pushing abbott to a DD

    will abbott ego, decide he wants it as i doubt he believes the
    the polls.
    part of me wants it so bad the other part say no

    would like supply blocked then i think no

    bit risky

    but have this feeling i cannot shake off that this gove will not go full term

    may be wishful thinking? any thought

    so much damage done to people lives and the country

    i hope the lnp is damaged for ever and never recovers.

  25. The story of Frances Abbott breaking the lease without penalty won’t go away soon. It’s now on Yahoo7 and Ninemsn where it’s currently the third most popular story.

    The owner of the flat is described as a single mother who is recovering from cancer in the original News Ltd story. The impression gained is of an unequal contest between an ordinary person and a PM’s daughter who is helped by connections.

    If the Abbotts had just paid the usual penalty for terminating the lease, this would not have been a story.

  27. Technically the eponymous river is not part of the seat of Murray, as the river itself is part of New South Wales along that border.

  28. [Simon Cullen
    Govt Senate Leader Eric Abetz says not all budget measures will be passed before July 1. But says it changes can be made, with leg to follow]

  30. RBA Speech:
    http://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2014/sp-ag-160614.html

    “GDP growth lifted noticeably around the turn of this year – and was running at a bit above trend over the year to the March quarter 2014. But much of that owed to a very strong contribution from the production and export of resources, which does not draw on much labour. The strength of resource production of late partly reflects an improvement in labour productivity in the mining sector, which is to be expected as new productive capacity comes on line.”

    Interesting positives on the previous government, but should note that the “was” part, meaning before Coalition Party first budget?

  31. zoidlord@179

    Despite loosing in Soccer, Japanese still clean their mess up:
    http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/japanese-fans-clean-up-their-section-after-world-cup-match-against-ivory-coast-015533399.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory

    Why can’t all sports fans and others do this? It’s not hard, particularly if you don’t litter in the first place.

    Why aren’t there fines for people who do litter so that we can effect a cultural change to no littering?

    As someone who never litters anywhere, this is al an impenetrable mystery to me.

  33. [[@NeilChenoweth: After the Oz commits totally to Nowicki denial @SharriMarkson says her father “backed up” Wilson’s $200k claim ]

    Gee, I wonder who was going to pony up that $200K?

  36. kakuru
    [Posted Monday, June 16, 2014 at 1:40 pm | PERMALINK
    [@NeilChenoweth: After the Oz commits totally to Nowicki denial @SharriMarkson says her father “backed up” Wilson’s $200k claim

    Gee, I wonder who was going to pony up that $200K?]

    Any intrepid journos willing and able to investigate?

  37. Surprisingly, no body is outraged by Online Copyright Laws by the end of this year, compared to when Labor is tried to do it?

  39. If the Abbotts had just paid the usual penalty for terminating the lease, this would not have been a story.

    Had no problem in paying terminated lease on Canberra accom, hundreds of thousands involved, but was using tax payer money.

  41. [ CTar1

    Posted Monday, June 16, 2014 at 1:17 pm | Permalink

    poroti

    I wonder if the Mustang is still at the bottom of Lake Constance ? After all that extra detailing I’d well imagine the ground crew gave him some ribbing over “splashing” on flight number 2.
    }

    —————————————————-

    Ctar1 – a local mate of mine is into engines – and has a large collection of stationary ones as well as some aeroplane and tank engines. He tells the story of his dad ( now deceased ) who was in the RAAF during and after WW 2 – but he says his dad was part of a gang after hostilities ceased and the jet age was upon us – and they used to go out in a boat in Sydney harbour and dump wooden crates of brand new Rolls Royce Merlin/Griffon engines in the harbour as “surplus” goods …..

    These engines are worth “thousands” today with enthusiasts

    I’m just reading an article in the Daily Mail about these engines and it quoted :

    “And the majority of the left-over engines were disposed of after the War – some even tipped down a mine shaft just to get rid of them.”

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2162754/Griffon-Chance-rare-successor-Rolls-Royce-Merlin-engine-auctioned.html#ixzz34ls4PjqS

  42. Josh Taylor ‏@joshgnosis 2m

    If the government was going to go ahead with changing media ownership laws, there’s leverage there to make content more easily available.

    Josh Taylor ‏@joshgnosis 1m

    Though likely the changes will probably lead to the opposite happening.

  43. [
    If the Netherlands can put five past the world champions, what hope Australia? Granted, it will require something special for the Socceroos to extend their unbeaten run against the Dutch but – strange as it sounds – don’t rule it out.
    ]

    At the risk of looking like a fool, I’m ruling it out!

  45. victoria

    [Any intrepid journos willing and able to investigate?]

    You mean… do some investigative journalism? Pffft. Like THAT’s gonna happen.

  48. “@SamCD01: Change of language from the PM on Carbon Tax repeal – Says it ‘should be’ repealed in the next six months. #qt”

  49. [At the risk of looking like a fool, I’m ruling it out!]

    We’d need an early fluke goal, presumably an own goal, and an early red card for Robben to have a chance.

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