Ripon race is down to the wire

The two main contenders in the race for the Victorian electorate of Ripon believe the result of the November 24 election could come down to the wire once again.

Incumbent Liberal Louise Staley claimed Ripon at the 2014 election by just 0.8 percent, making it the Liberal-nationals Coalition’s most marginal seat.

Labor’s Joe Helper held the seat, which encompasses several eastern Wimmera towns and cities including Ararat, Stawell and Donald, for 15 years before his retirement prior to the 2014 election.

This year’s race is expected to be another close one, with eight candidates including Labor’s Sarah De Santis nominating.

Other candidates nominating are The Greens’ Serge Simic, Animal Justice Party’s Anna Hills, Democratic Labour Party’s Peter Mulcahy, Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party’s Sandra Gibbs, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers’ Peter Fava and Bronwyn Jennings for the Victorian Socialists.

Louise Staley

Ms Staley said she expected this year’s Ripon election to be just as tight as it was four years ago.

“It was hotly contested last time, so I’ve been through this before,” she said.

“You’ve just got to put yourself, what you’ve done, what you stand for and what you will do out there and leave it to the people to make their decision.”

Ms Staley said her track record as an advocate for Ripon in opposition would hold her in good stead.

“When you’re in opposition, that parliamentary role is making sure, to the best of your ability, that the government delivers for your electorate,” she said.

“I went to the last election with a number of election commitments – for example, the Community Health Centre at East Grampians Health Service, and that’s been built.

“It’s really important to make sure the things people voted for – because they voted for me at the last election – were delivered, and they have been.”

Ms Staley claimed many Ripon constituents had been alienated by the Labor government’s handling of issues such as the stoush between the United Firefighters Union and the CFA, which saw the union try to exert more control over the largely volunteer-based CFA.

“As that has gone on and the government has twisted and turned, doing whatever it takes to deliver an outcome that suits Peter Marshall and the firefighters union, people here have rallied,” she said.

“We’ve had significant protests from volunteer firefighters who are extremely unhappy with the direction the government’s taken.

“If we change the government, we will make sure volunteer firefighters are given respect and listened to in the way they need to be to keep us all safe.”

“You’ve just got to put yourself, what you’ve done, what you stand for and what you will do out there and leave it to the people to make their decision” – Louise Staley

Sarah De Santis

Labor’s Ms De Santis said she was confident she could overcome Ms Staley’s razor-thin advantage.

“It is a marginal seat, obviously. In 2014 the sitting member picked it up on the back of Nationals preferences – it was about 301 votes that she won by,” she said.

“So it’s the most marginal non-held seat for the Labor government.

“The feeling, though, over the past 12 months has been very good on the ground.”

Ms De Santis said voters had responded positively to the government’s pre-election pledges, including the announcement of $220 million of TAFE funding.

“They’ve been excited to hear about our mental health royal commission, they’ve been excited about our TAFE funding program and they’ve been reaping the benefits of better healthcare through our Regional Health Infrastructure Fund,” she said.

Ms De Santis said roads and rating were two of the biggest issues within the Ripon electorate.

She said Labor had committed to a rating review that was more comprehensive than the Coalition’s planned review of farm rates.

“The Andrews Labor government is committed to a ratings strategy that is not just on ag business or farming properties, it’s on residential properties as well,” she said.

“The flipside to that is making local government self-sustainable.

“There’s a lot to do there. We’ve already invested $941 million into rural roads and we’ve got another $1 billion in local roads infrastructure that’s being rolled out at the moment.

“It’s about working with local councils to make sure the local roads are cared for just as much as our main arterial roads are.”

Ms De Santis said she would seek to emulate some of the qualities that made Joe Helper a successful member for Ripon as she tried to reclaim the seat he held for 15 years.

“I think the reason people loved Joe Helper as a local member was because he understood the value of community. He was very clear that the best thing about Ripon is its people,” she said.

“We’ve got some extraordinary communities, each very different to the other, and we’ve got incredible capacity within those communities.

“If you can just be present with them and be a member of those communities, you’re going to do good things.”

Serge Simic

The Greens’ Mr Simic will try to build on the modest swing of 1.2 percent towards the party at the last election.

Mr Simic, who came to Australia as a refugee during the Yugoslavian civil war in 1998, operates an organic farm and said he understood the difficulties facing farmers.

He said his priorities included helping small-scale farmers, protecting wildlife areas and promoting low-impact tourism.