Legislative Council: Western Victoria
Western Victoria encompasses Melton at Melbourne’s western fringe, Geelong and its surrounds, Ballarat, and territory out to the South Australian border, not including the electorate of Mildura in the state’s north-western corner. The region’s constituent lower house districts are unaltered by the redistribution, which has accordingly effected only minor change. Seven of them are held by Labor, including three in the Geelong region, the two Ballarat seats and Melton, although three of them have been made notionally Liberal by the redistribution. The remainder include three held by the Liberals and one by the Nationals.
The result of the 2006 election included what so far has been the only micro-party boilover of the two elections under the new system, when Peter Kavanagh of the Democratic Labor Party won a seat in addition to two each for Labor and Liberal. This seat was gained at the 2010 election by the Coalition. The Liberals and the Nationals had run separate tickets in 2006, before a combined ticket in 2010 gave the Nationals the number three position, which duly proved successful for them.
The Coalition agreement grants the Liberals the safe two positions on the top of the ticket in Western Victoria, and the Nationals the loseable third. A vacancy has been created at the top of the Liberal ticket by the retirement of David Koch, who first entered parliament in Western province at the 2002 election and progress from second to first on the Western Metropolitan ticket between 2006 and 2010.
The top position on the ticket now goes to Simon Ramsay, who was elected from second position in 2010. Ramsay was the president of the Victorian Farmers Federation from 2005 to 2009, then worked as director of CRF Foods until his election to parliament at the end of 2010.
The Liberals’ original candidate for the second position was Aaron Lane, a research fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs. However, Lane was forced to withdraw after it emerged he was in the habit of using homophobic slurs and other crudities on social media. The preselection to replace him was won by Josh Morris, Ballarat mayor and member of the party’s powerful administrative committee.
The Nationals’ position at number three is occupied by David O’Brien, who was the beneficiary of the Coalition’s success of winning a third seat in 2010, the Nationals having emerged empty-handed from their separate ticket in 2006. O’Brien had previously been a Supreme Court barrister.
The winnable top two positions on Labor’s ticket have gone undisturbed since 2006, the first being held by Jaala Pulford and the second by Gayle Tierney.
Jaala Pulford was an official with the Right faction National Union of Workers before entering parliament. She won promotion to parliamentary secretary in August 2007, and has retained that status ever since, her present title being parliamentary secretary to the Shadow Ministers for Regional and Rural Development and Agriculture.
Gayle Tierney is a former official with the Automotive, Metals and Engineering Union, which has since merged with the Left faction Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. In February 2012 she won promotion to parliamentary secretary to the Shadow Employment Minister.
Labor’s third candidate is Jacinta Ermacora, a Warrnambool councillor who served as mayor from December 2010 to October 2012.
Other candidates: With micro-parties a strong chance of snaring a seat in the country regions especially, informed speculation has focused on Moyne Shire mayor James Purcell, who is running in Western Victoria under the banner of “Vote 1 Local Jobs”. Purcell polled 11.5% as a lower house candidate for Denis Napthine’s seat of South West Coast at the 2010 election, and has done exceptionally well on preferences. The lead Greens candidate for the region is Lloyd Davies, a civil engineer and former councillor for the Borough of Queenscliffe.
Simplified preference tickets
Excluded from consideration: the top two Labor and Coalition candidates.
Palmer United: Shooters And Fishers; People Power; Australian Christians; Cyclists; Greens; Coalition; Labor; Animal Justice; Rise Up Australia; Sex Party; Family First; Voice For The West; Country Alliance; Liberal Democratic; Vote 1 Local Jobs; DLP.
Family First: Vote 1 Local Jobs; Country Alliance; Palmer United; Coalition; Australian Christians; DLP; Rise Up Australia; Shooters And Fishers; Voice For The West; Cyclists; People Power; Liberal Democratic; Animal Justice; Labor; Greens; Sex Party.
Cyclists: Greens; Sex Party; Voice For The West; Labor; Animal Justice; DLP; Liberal Democratic; Coalition; Palmer United; Family First; Country Alliance; Rise Up Australia; Australian Christians; People Power; Shooters And Fishers; Vote 1 Local Jobs.
Voice For The West: Greens; People Power; Vote 1 Local Jobs; DLP; Liberal Democratic; Family First; Country Alliance; Shooters And Fishers; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia; Palmer United; Animal Justice; Cyclists; Sex Party; Coalition; Labor.
Country Alliance: Vote 1 Local Jobs; DLP; Voice For The West; Liberal Democratic; Shooters And Fishers; Family First; Coalition; People Power; Australian Christians; Sex Party; Cyclists; Labor; Rise Up Australia; Animal Justice; Palmer United; Greens.
Rise Up Australia: DLP; Australian Christians; Family First; People Power; Shooters And Fishers; Country Alliance; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Voice For The West; Coalition; Liberal Democratic; Labor; Animal Justice; Sex Party; Palmer United; Cyclists; Greens.
Sex Party: Animal Justice; Voice For The West; Shooters And Fishers; Cyclists; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Greens; Labor; Coalition; Palmer United; People Power; Liberal Democratic; Country Alliance; Australian Christians; DLP; Family First; Rise Up Australia.
Australian Christians: DLP; Rise Up Australia; Coalition; Family First; People Power; Shooters And Fishers; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Voice For The West; Country Alliance; Labor; Liberal Democratic; Palmer United; Cyclists; Animal Justice; Greens; Sex Party.
People Power: DLP; Shooters And Fishers; Country Alliance; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Animal Justice; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia; Family First; Liberal Democratic; Voice For The West; Cyclists; Sex Party; Coalition; Labor; Greens; Palmer United.
Coalition: Shooters And Fishers; Family First; Australian Christians; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Country Alliance; People Power; Palmer United; Voice For The West; DLP; Sex Party; Liberal Democratic; Cyclists; Labor; Animal Justice; Rise Up Australia; Greens.
Animal Justice: Cyclists; People Power; Sex Party; Greens; Voice For The West; Labor; Coalition; Liberal Democratic; DLP; Australian Christians; Country Alliance; Palmer United; Family First; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Rise Up Australia; Shooters And Fishers.
Liberal Democratic: Shooters And Fishers; DLP; Country Alliance; Sex Party; Family First; Voice For The West; People Power; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia; Cyclists; Labor; Coalition; Palmer United; Greens; Animal Justice.
Shooters And Fishers: Palmer United; Country Alliance; DLP; Liberal Democratic; Australian Christians; People Power; Rise Up Australia; Cyclists; Voice For The West; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Family First; Sex Party; Coalition; Labor; Animal Justice; Greens.
Labor: DLP; Country Alliance; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Palmer United; Sex Party; People Power; Greens; Animal Justice; Cyclists; Voice For The West; Liberal Democratic; Shooters And Fishers; Family First; Coalition; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia.
Greens: Animal Justice; Cyclists; Vote 1 Local Jobs; Sex Party; Voice For The West; People Power; Palmer United; Labor; Coalition; Liberal Democratic; Family First; DLP; Shooters And Fishers; Country Alliance; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia.
DLP: Vote 1 Local Jobs; Country Alliance; Shooters And Fishers; Australian Christians; Rise Up Australia; People Power; Voice For The West; Family First; Liberal Democratic; Coalition; Labor; Palmer United; Cyclists; Animal Justice; Sex Party; Greens.
Vote 1 Local Jobs: DLP; Country Alliance; Shooters And Fishers; Family First; Sex Party; Voice For The West; People Power; Cyclists; Australian Christians; Liberal Democratic; Palmer United; Rise Up Australia; Animal Justice; Labor; Coalition; Greens.