Labor tops Tweed ballot

But candidates agree issues will decide NSW seat

IT might not have had the same level of excitement as a barrier draw for the Melbourne Cup but for candidates contesting the seat of Tweed in the NSW state election, the interest in the ballot draw was just as intense.

Held at the Tweed Electoral Office at Tweed Heads South, the draw was supervised by Tweed electoral manager Joanne Fisher in front of can- didates Craig Elliot and Bill Fenelon and the incumbent, Geoff Provest.

Names were dropped into the draw container in order of candidates nominating, with Country Labor’s Craig Elliot first and Nationals Geoff Provest last.

Mr Elliot drew the number one position on the ballot paper, followed by Susie Header from the Animal Justice Party, the Nationals’ Geoff Provest, Ronald McDonald from the Sustainable Australia Party and Greens candidate Bill Fenelon.

Mr Elliot said the top spot on the ballot paper was secondary to what voters would be deciding on polling day, March 23.

“It will be all about issues that will influence voters’ decisions on election day, not where you sit on the ballot paper,” he said. “The Nationals have long neglected the Tweed and only now are trying to show their interest.

“I am looking forward to the challenge and will be out and about when pre-polling starts on March 11.”

For the sitting MP, the election would be about the provision of services, especially health in the form of the Tweed Valley Hospital.

“We are investing $534 million in a new hospital which we will have up and running by 2023,” Mr Provest said. “The government is looking at providing new schools, more police and delivering on services now and into the future.

“I have fought long and hard for the people of Tweed and look forward to continuing to do so.

“I go by our record of achievement – that’s what is important, not where you sit on the ballot paper.”

The Greens’ Bill Fenelon had a philosophical approach to the draw, which put him fifth on the ballot paper.

“I never have done any good in raffles so it doesn’t surprise me,” he said.