What the major parties are offering Corangamite, Wannon

WITH the nation preparing to head to the polls tomorrow (Saturday, May 3), Labor and the Coalition have outlined most of the election pledges they hope will win over voters.

Here is a round-up of the promises made for the region, at the time of writing, by the major parties during their campaigns.

In Corangamite, incumbent Labor MP Libby Coker has made four commitments for residents in the Surf Coast Shire, the most significant being the delivery of a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Torquay and $68.2 million in additional funding for the second stage of the Barwon Heads Road upgrade.

According to the latest YouGov poll data, Ms Coker, who has held Corangamite since 2019, looks poised to retain the seat over Liberal hopeful Darcy Dunstan and is leading the seat 55 per cent to 45 per cent in a two-party preferred vote.

Ms Coker has also committed to establishing a new Medicare Mental Health Centre in Torquay and has matched a Liberal Party promise to upgrade the courts used by the Grovedale Football and Netball Club at Burdoo Reserve.

Both Ms Coker and Mr Dunstan pledged close to a million dollars toward the upgrades at the sporting facility.

Among Mr Dunstan’s commitments are a $3.5 million funding boost to help foodshare service Feed Me build a new distribution centre, $1.3 million for mobile tower upgrades across the electorate, $3.4 million for a new pavilion at Banyul-Warri Fields and $2 million for a dedicated bike path linking Torquay and Armstrong Creek.

In Wannon, which stretches from Anglesea to Portland, incumbent Liberal MP Dan Tehan is hoping to fight off an attack to the Liberal stronghold by independent candidate Alex Dyson for the third time.

During his campaign, Mr Tehan has committed $450,000 toward the construction of new female changerooms at the Birregurra Recreation Reserve and pledged to reintroduce two Coalition government-era funding programs.

The first would see an 80:20 funding split between federal and state governments restored for nationally significant road projects, and the other would provide a funding allocation to local councils to deliver priority road and infrastructure projects in their area.

Mr Tehan pointed to safety improvements along Cape Otway Road as a project the Surf Coast Shire could be eligible to receive funding for under the program.