THE Australian Labor Party\u2019s Catherine King has been re-elected Member for Ballarat for an eighth term following last Saturday\u2019s Federal election.<\/p>\n
On the night her party formed government, Ms King retained the seat with just under three per cent swing, while the respective Liberal and Greens candidates, Ben Green and John Barnes, received 27.3 per cent, and 14.4 per cent of the electorate\u2019s votes.<\/p>\n
Ms King, her campaign team, party members and volunteers celebrated the local and national win at Ballarat Trades Hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is abundantly clear from the results tonight is there is a huge appetite for change in this country. It is evident everywhere,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are wanting, and have heard, our positive message to finally do something about climate change… They also care deeply about their jobs, their families, and actually want a better life for every single person in this country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, thank you, thank you to the people of the electorate of Ballarat for putting your faith in me once more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms King paid tribute to her staff, family, and volunteers, who she said had worked unbelievably hard to achieve a \u201cmagnificent result\u201d for the electorate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had more volunteers than ever before; people who are wanting a strong progressive Labor agenda and are determined that we actually do that, holding me and my team to account, but actually wanting to step up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Alongside Green and Barnes, the seat\u2019s other candidates included the United Australia Party\u2019s Terri Pryse-Smith, the Liberal Democrats\u2019 Julia McGrath, One Nation\u2019s Rosalie Taxis, independent Alex Graham, and the Australian Federation Party\u2019s Kerryn Sedgman.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Ben Green the Liberal candidate, who I got to know throughout the course of the election campaign, I certainly wish you well on a hard-fought campaign,\u201d Ms King said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn Barnes has done really well in this election campaign, and in terms of the Greens vote, that\u2019s increased right the way around the country, which I think is very much reflecting that there is a very strong move to do so much better than we have been doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the other candidates in the field, many who\u2019ve never stood for politics before, this is a great, diverse democracy that we live in, and I hope very much that you\u2019ve enjoyed and learnt from that experience, and continue to have your voice and your say through your local member.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spending election night with his Liberal campaign team, party members and volunteers at the Canberra Hotel, Mr Green reflected on the outcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a preliminary basis, the [swing] is more than I thought. I totally understand that Catherine King has had a very strong hold on the Federal seat of Ballarat,\u201d he said<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting a huge result for myself, I always knew that this was going to be a very tough challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of that is that I came in late into the campaign in the sense that the endorsement was reasonably late in the piece.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really heartened by the efforts timewise, emotionally, and intellectually by the volunteers. It\u2019s all about the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been humbling, exciting, and enjoyable, and I\u2019d like to thank Catherine King and all the other parties and independents for running a fair campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Green said he is concerned for the people of the electorate, and has some \u201capprehensions\u201d for the near future, regarding the impacts of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and its impact on energy prices and the cost of living.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sincerely hope that the road is not a really rocky one, though I think it\u2019ll be a tough situation for some time to come. These influences are big, international, and we\u2019re caught up in it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShould the party accept me, I\u2019m intending to run again. Given the percentage, I know this is a long campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Australian Labor Party\u2019s Catherine King has been re-elected Member for Ballarat for an eighth term following last Saturday\u2019s Federal election. On the night her party formed government, Ms King retained the seat with just under three per cent swing, while the respective Liberal and Greens candidates, Ben Green and John Barnes, received 27.3 per […]<\/p>\n