Before the federal election on May 21, docklands news The seat looks at Melbourne and whether Labor candidate Keir Patterson can prevent the party’s steep decline in first-preference votes since 2010.
Greens leader Adam Bandt goes on to win the seat of Melbourne for the fifth time in a row in the 2022 federal election as the red-hot favorite.
The Melbourne division, which covers the CBD and suburbs immediately north of the Yarra River to both east and west, has been dominated by the Greens since 2010 and remains the party’s only lower house seat in Canberra.
Organized by Labor from 1904 to 2010, the party has suffered heavy losses in first preference votes since Bandt’s breakthrough victory 12 years earlier.
That year, the percentage of first-preference votes fell from 49.5 (in 2007) to 38.1.
It has been falling steadily since hitting a record low of 19.7 per cent in the last election in 2019.
The candidate tasked Kensington resident Keir Patterson to stop this slide and secure a major underdog victory for Labor.
After winning the pre-election in August 2021, Mr Patterson has been campaigning since September and said voters had one thing on their mind.
“There’s a real mood for change,” he added docklands news, “The people we talk to say ‘we need to get rid of this government’ – for most of the people I talk to in the electorate, this is a number one, two and three priority. “
Born in Carlton and owning his first home in north Melbourne, Mr Patterson said he “has been in and out of voters all my life.” And despite living on three different continents, he counts Melbourne as “by far the best city in the world to live in”.
He has worked in the field of mental health and, most recently, was president of the 50,000-member Bicycle Network, which advocates for more sustainable transportation and safer riding.
Mr Patterson said looking at Labor’s recent election results “doesn’t give you the full picture”, citing the fact that Luke Cressey, Labour’s previous candidate for the seat of Melbourne, had posted objectionable social media posts before the 2019 count. The reason was withdrawn which had come to light. ,
However, Labor’s primary vote had sunk well before 2019, something it was determined to change.
“I have no theory why,” he said.
I can say that the campaign we are running at the moment is probably the most active and certainly the most organized and active campaign in my opinion and from the point of view of other observers. [in recent elections], We have a really good volunteer base and a lot of supporters, and we’re running a really positive campaign and we’re getting really positive feedback. I guess I’m not really focused on past elections.
Labor and Mr Patterson are under no illusions about the magnitude of their upcoming assignment, but remain positive about their prospects.
“We are very confident about this election. There is no doubt that it is a beautiful steep hill to climb,” he said.
“I feel positive about it, the vibe is good. There’s no doubt that Adam is a strong incumbent, and this seat is a big focus for the Greens, they have a huge budget and they spend a lot of money on voters.” are… I am very disappointed by the lack of action. And unfortunately, being a Member of Parliament from a small party, we do not pay attention to those issues.”
Noting a number of nationwide issues, Mr Patterson said the biggest issue facing the seat of Melbourne – Victoria’s smallest electorate of 40 square kilometres – was “definitely emerging from the pandemic”.
“Our CBD has been destroyed,” he said.
“We need to reinstate CBD as our capital.” But the reality is that people are not going to work five days a week in CBD, so we need to redefine the purpose of our CBD, What is it for and how does it act as the glue that holds Melbourne together.”
Mr Patterson said the biggest surprise so far during the campaign was the hunger for a National Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC), after speaking with several people on the ground in Melbourne.
He said the issue was “suddenly identified” by nearly one in three people as their number one issue in the May 21 polling.
“The thing that surprised me the most in this election – you expect a lot of major issues, you can guess at them – is but restoring integrity and trust in federal ICAC, and federal politics in general, for the people.” They actually name it as one of their most important issues, which surprised us,” he said.
“I think people are really sick of our federal politics, they are sick of our lack of accountability and the perception of bias and corruption, and they want to do something about it.”
Other candidates contesting the Melbourne seat in this election are Justin Borg (United Australia Party), James Damches (Liberal), Richard Peppard (Liberal Democrat Party), Scott Robson (Independent), Walter Stragan (One Nation), Bruce Poon (animals) are included. Justice Party) and Colleen Bolger (Victorian Socialist) •
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