MCMILLAN MP Russell Broadbent has defied the history of his electorate and bucked the national trend towards the ALP, being elected for a second consecutive term.
Before Saturday’s federal election the Liberal Party held McMillan by a borderline 5 per cent, but the seat had a tumultuous history with voters having ditched the incumbent in five of the six elections since 1990.
Mr Broadbent won the seat in 1996, lost it in 1998, and won it back again in 2004 for the first time under the present boundaries.
When the News went to print yesterday, Mr Broadbent had a personal swing of 7.53 per cent.
The swing is measured as the difference between the percentage votes of the candidate at Saturday’s election compared to the previous election.
The Pakenham resident and businessman had mixed emotions about the result with his colleagues falling from power on the weekend.
Mr Broadbent said he had been a strong advocate for the local community and voters last week had shown him kindness just as he’d stood up for them.
Over in LaTrobe, the two major candidates are still in a battle to win the seat.
The incumbent Jason Wood was slightly ahead of ALP candidate Rodney Cocks by a slender 712 votes yesterday as the News went to print.
Mr Cocks said the final figure was the only thing that counted, and that wouldn’t be known for several days.
“All we can do is wait, there’s not much to say,” he said.
Mr Wood said he was grateful for the support he had received from his team and the electorate.
“When you look at the overall situation I could have been taken out in the tidal wave against the Liberal Party, but I am in with a strong chance because of my supporters and staff,” he said.
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