Saving koalas, Bulli Bypass and train services are among priorities new Heathcote MP Maryanne Stuart has nominated after her emphatic victory in taking the electorate from the defeated Liberals in Saturday night’s state election.
Stuart, successful in toppling Lee Evans after two previous attempts, appears to have achieved a swing of 10 per cent – more than enough to unseat the 12-year member.
Voters of the northern Illawarra helped put Labor into power when they chose Stuart in one of the first seats to be called on election night as a gain for the ALP.
Stuart will not be the only Macquarie St novice as Labor picked up eight other seats in Sydney surrounds and three regionals including South Coast.
She has had three decades’ experience in education and political and workplace relations as a community organiser, trainer and campaign director and lives in Engadine with husband, Russell, and their two children.
“It’s a great victory for the whole campaign team,” she said. “When we started this campaign eight years ago, it was a 19 per cent margin. Now it looks like it will be a 10 per cent margin.
“It’s a great achievement on the back of lots of hard work. We have a strong accessible advocate for our community now.”
Asked to name initial priorities, Stuart listed environmental protections such as locking in koala corridors, a start on plans to upgrade Heathcote Road and a feasibility study for Bulli Bypass and working with the new transport minister on service quality and a frequency review for train stations south of Sutherland.
New boundaries for Heathcote included left-leaning suburbs such as Austinmer, Thirroul and Bulli, where totals showed strong swings to Labor. With just over half the votes counted, Stuart had benefited from a 15.2 per cent swing. She had 59.9 per cent (16,599) of first preference votes to Evans’ 40.1 per cent (11,132).
A booth-by-booth breakdown of results showed vast gaps between the major parties’ candidates fortunes, with a strong showing by Greens representative Cooper Riach in certain areas.
At Austinmer Anglican, Stuart was ahead 297 to Evans’ 136, with Riach second on 258, when counting ended on election night. At Bulli PCYC, the ALP dominance was further underlined with a 656-380 result (Greens on 256). At Bull Public School, the figures were 333 for Labor, 149 for Liberal and 148 for the Greens.
Labor hit the 47-seat mark required for majority government – a stronger result than that predicted by many pundits and polls – before election night had ended.
Business Illawarra, the region’s peak business organisation, was quick to issue a press release congratulating new premier Chris Minns and regional MPs Ryan Park (Keira), Paul Scully (Wollongong) and Anna Watson (Shellharbour) but failed to mention Stuart’s success.
Evans polled well at Helensburgh Anglican with 504 but could not match Stuart’s 568. Stuart won the Helensburgh Public booth 358 to 168.
Stanwell Park Anglican voters opted for Stuart by 311 to 188, with Riach attaining 169 votes. The small Scarborough-Wombarra SLSC booth results were Labor 86, Liberal 66 and Greens 63, while Coledale Public’s count revealed 347 for Labor, 202 for Liberal and 247 for Greens.