McMillan MP Russell Broadbent, second from left, with Cardinia Shire Recreation planner Garry King, mayor Kate Lempriere and CEO Garry McQuillan, last week announced the Coalition, if re-elected, would contribute $900,000 to develop an 18-court tennis facility in Pakenham.
HISTORY says Labor will win the seat of McMillan on Saturday, but analysts say the vote is likely to swing in favour of the Coalition.
The Liberal Party holds McMillan by just five per cent, but the seat has a tumultuous history with the result having switched at almost every election since 1975.
The electorate, which includes towns from Pakenham to Walhalla, has been dubbed the political seat of death, because the sitting member has been defeated at five of the past six elections since 1990.
Russell Broadbent, whose slogan is Local and Liberal, will have to rein in that volatility if he is to claim victory for a second consecutive term.
He won the seat in 1996, lost it in 1998, and won it back again in 2004 for the first time under the present boundaries.
Mr Broadbent, who has overseen the delivery of the Pakenham Bypass, says drought was a major issue having affected businesses, farms, schools and whole communities.
Labor candidate Christine Maxwell says the main issue is WorkChoices. Mrs Maxfield, who has been a backroom ALP campaigner for 23 years, says the drift of newcomers from Melbourne’s outer south eastern fringe suburbs to areas that traditionally have been rural and demographically stable will work the vote in her favour.
Although the major candidates have stated that the environment is a major concern for voters, Greens’ Sandra Betts has claimed the authentic position on climate change, saying the peak impact of global warming is near and instant action is essential.
The biggest booths in the electorate tend to vote Labor, but the Liberal Party won 70 of the 83 booths at the last election.
Analysts expect the large Yallourn booth to work heavily for Labor and the remote small settlement booths to reflect the conservative vote.
