Marchant joins battle for South Barwon

ANTI- FRACKING campaigner Alison Marchant is one of two potential Labor candidates who will stand for the Victorian seat of South Barwon.

The preselection race is down to Ms Marchant, pictured, and former Corangamite MP Darren Cheeseman, who is aiming to replicate his success in defeating a sitting Liberal member at the federal level.

South Barwon is held by Liberal MP Andrew Katos, who was first elected in 2010 and won the last poll by a margin of 2.86 per cent.

The Labor Party is expected to decide by the end of November who will represent it in South Barwon at next year’s election.

Ms Marchant yesterday confirmed she was in the running but did not want to make any further comment until the candidacy was resolved.

Ms Marchant, a leader of lobby group Frack Free Moriac, jointly won the Surf Coast Shire Citizen of the Year award in January for her advocacy work. The grassroots campaign proved successful when the Labor Government banned fracking and placed a moratorium on conventional gas exploration until 2020.

With the Coalition this week stating its interest in reviving onshore gas exploration, energy looms as a key election issue.

The Geelong Advertiser revealed in July that Mr Cheeseman was eyeing a comeback through the Victorian arena.

A former Ballarat councillor, he won the federal seat of Corangamite in 2007 as Kevin Rudd swept the ALP into power. He served two terms before losing the marginal seat to Liberal MP Sarah Henderson in 2013, then failed to gain preselection last year.