WHICH WAY WILL CREEK FLOW?

RESIDENTS in Armstrong Creek will be among the most critical voters in the nation when Australia goes to the polls next month.

Corangamite is now considered among the most marginal seats in the country, once boundary changes are counted in.

Sprawling Armstrong Creek will be a key battleground in the fight for Corangamite due to the large number of new residents now living there.

At the 2018 state election, Armstrong Creek went red with 626 votes for Labor’s Darren Cheeseman to 413 for Liberal opponent Andrew Katos.

With a federal election on the horizon, residents of Armstrong Creek have plenty to ponder as they weigh up the credentials of sitting MP Sarah Henderson and her biggest challenger, Labor’s Libby Coker.

Simon Northeast ( The Greens), Neil Harvey (United Australia Party), Damien Pitts (Animal Justice Party) and independent Damien Cole give voters plenty of choice.

Locals say the hot button topics are growth, taxation, the economy, cost of living and climate change.

Then there’s the question of leadership.

With two ‘ unpopular’ leaders in Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten leading their respective parties, it could come down to the question of which one voters like the least.

Named after Lake Corangamite, the name of the lake originated from the Aboriginal word for ‘ bitter’, describing the salt content of the lake.

But another bitter fight could be brewing this time around as two strong-willed women go head to head to take their place in Canberra.

Ms Henderson has already accused her rival of lacking “integrity”.

“In remaining on council while a Labor Party candidate, she demonARMSTRONG CREEK: strated she did not have the integrity to put the community first,” Ms Henderson said.

“She failed to support a City Deal which included Corangamite and she won’t even back the people of Anglesea over removing Alcoa’s chimney stack, a major blight on the environment.

“Several weeks ago, when I announced $4 million for a new Ocean Grove Health Hub and headspace, she announced a headspace with no space. If my Labor opponent had integrity, she would not be endorsing the lawless CFMEU which Bob Hawke says should be deregistered.”

Ms Coker said Ms Henderson has taken voters for granted.

“Voters in Armstrong Creek want to see more funding for local schools and hospitals,” she said. “They want penalty rates and they want a Member of parliament that will stand up to big business and the banks — not vote 26 times to protect banks from a Banking Royal Commission.”

The hotly contested seat has decisively swung to the elected government of the day at the past four elections.

Considered a conservative stronghold for more than 70 years, Labor has steadily gained ground as it moved away from its rural roots and into suburban Geelong.

Successive redistributions that pushed it further into the city helped see it fall to Labor in 2007, and it became the country’s most marginal seat in 2010.

Ms Henderson won it back for the Liberals in 2013, and retained it on a 3.1 per cent margin in 2016.

But a boundary redistribution last year hurt Ms Henderson as she lost large parts of the electorate including Colac and district, parts of Golden Plains and a large slice of Geelong including Belmont, Highton, Wandana Heights and parts of Grovedale.