Eureka! Settle takes newly named seat

MICHAELA Settle has been returned to State parliament by claiming the newly named seat of Eureka.

Ms Settle has held a seat in the lower house since 2018 in the old Division of Buninyong.

She retained the seat despite a small first preference swing away from Labor, which was sitting at about four per cent at time of publication.

With the Division of Buninyong having undergone and significant realignment as it became Eureka, Ms Settle said she’s proud of the diversity in the electorate.

“Regional Victoria is incredibly diverse and vibrant. I’m delighted my seat of Eureka covers an enormous amount of that area,” she said.

“All of Moorabool Shire, Golden Plains Shire as well as parts of Ballarat. We’ve got some great opportunities going forward.”

With wind farms fast becoming a major source of employment in the region, one Labor election commitment resonated with Ms Settle.

“I’m delighted that one of the announcements was about the renewable training centre out at Federation TAFE so we can really harness what we’ve got in the region and turn that into jobs and opportunities,” she said.

With a large geographical are now to cover, Ms Settle said it’s important that all of the broader electorate is supported, particularly with regards to the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

“For me what really matters is the idea of legacy pieces. I want to make sure… that benefit is spread across a broader region,” she said.

“It’s great that it’s here in Ballarat… but I want to make sure there’s wins for the broader regional community.

“Making sure East Ballarat isn’t forgotten is also important. Everyone concentrates on the growth in the west but we’re proud communities in the east and we need to keep delivering for those communities as well.”

Defeated Liberal candidate for Eureka, Paul Tatchell, spent the election evening at the Commercial Hotel at Ballan.

He said he’d congratulated Ms Settle and that for him, the campaign was “never about winning.”

“We never had any views that we’d be successful. It was really about doing some advocacy for the region which is what that platform was about,” he said.

“Had the Libs not ran, there would have been a massive gap back to the independents. The catalyst for running was to make sure it didn’t blow out any further.

“It was a 15 per cent margin, then it came back to about 10. Michaela had more than 40 per cent of the primary last election. I’m a realist.”

Mr Tatchell said he’s concerned about the “absolute contempt” both major parties seem to have for taxpayer funds, as well as the inability for the Liberals to connect with younger voters.

“They don’t understand the ramifications of that short-term myopic thinking,” he said.

“We keep forgetting it’s the people’s money. The classic example is Sovereign Hill. I’m sure people would rather 27 million be filling potholes.

“Because you’re part of the party you have to be there. As much as I protested on a couple occasions, the fact is you sign up for that.

“We need to get back to some form of representation and be brave enough to step away from party views and not have it called disunity but representation.”