Dunkley campaign heats up Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au CANDIDATES in the 2 March Dunkley by-election are in the home stretch of the campaign. The by-election was triggered by the death of incumbent MP Peta Murphy in December. Both major parties announced their candidates in January - Jodie Belyea will seek to retain the seat for Labor, and Frankston mayor Nathan Conroy has been chosen to try and overcome a 6.3 percent margin to win it for the Liberals. All candidates in the by-election have put cost of living at the forefront of the campaign. Labor has been speaking about its changes to stage three tax cuts, which will save most Dunkley residents hundreds of dollars each year. It has also been highlighting its recent establishment of a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Frankston and other healthcare initiatives. The Liberals are making infrastructure spending promises in a bid to win the seat. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has promised $900 million towards the electrification and duplication of the Stony Point line from Frankston to Baxter. The money, which is well short of the $1.5 billion costed to complete the project in a 2019 business case, is dependent on the Coalition winning next year’s federal election. Both major party leaders have been frequent fixtures around the electorate this year. On Sunday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Frankston as part of a final push to retain the seat - he highlighted fee-free
TAFE and stage three tax cuts as two of the federal government’s key policies heading into the by-election. “Our commitment on fee-free TAFE which was 180,000 people - has not only been met, it’s been exceeded, with 350,000 fee-fee TAFE places commencing last year and in addition to that another 300,000 starting this year. What that shows is that Labor’s measures to address cost of living pressures, whilst putting downward pressure on inflation, are having an impact,” he said. “This week we had the announcement that in 2023, real wages grew, and grew much faster than was predicted by Treasury. With that 4.2 per cent figure of wage growth (...) real wages are going up, inflation is going down. And as a result of our cost of living tax cuts, every single taxpayer in Dunkley will get a tax cut.” Peter Dutton visited Frankston on 18 February to campaign with Conroy. He drew attention to Conroy’s work on council, saying “he’s a person who, as mayor, has the confidence of his colleagues. Over three years, in an unprecedented way, they voted him in because they know that he’s got the plan and he’s rolling it out for his local community a 20-year vision that he’s been able to work up.” “He’s put money into sporting clubs and into infrastructure to provide for local families, for people as they age in the community, those with special needs, because he’s prioritised them above the bureaucracy and above where money could be spent otherwise,” Dutton said. The campaign has grown more heated
in the last two weeks. Conservative lobby group Advance Australia ran a full page attack ad in the Herald Sun last week addressed towards Dunkley voters. The ad targeted Labor over the High Court’s 2023 ruling that indefinite detention is unlawful. The federal government was bound to follow that ruling. Comments made by Belyea in the wake of the voice referendum have also received some media attention. She said that the outcome displayed “white privilege”. Conroy’s employment history has been the subject of scrutiny on Sky News and in the Australian Financial Review. Conroy described himself as the “general manager of a multi-million dollar business” at age 24 in a 2021 interview with Irish publication Echo Live. The role he was describing was with the Richmond Union Bowling Club. Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke has written to Frankston Council asking it to investigate the matter. “Nathan Conroy isn’t dumb, he knows that telling people he was the manager of a sports club, serving beers and calling bingo with zero credentials didn’t sound as impressive as saying he was a 24-year-old general manager of a multi-million dollar business. He just didn’t expect to get caught,” Edbrooke said. The Dunkley candidates in ballot order are Nathan Conroy (Liberal), Bronwyn Currie (Animal Justice), Chrysten Abraham (Libertarian), Reem Yunis (Victorian Socialists), Darren Bergwerf (Independent), Alex Breskin (Greens), Heath McKenzie (Australian Democrats), and Jodie Belyea (Labor).
JODIE Belyea. Picture: Gary Sissons
NATHAN Conroy. Picture: Gary Sissons
WHAT’S NEW...
Red Hill Show returns this Labour Day weekend– for the 96th time SATURDAY 9 March the Red Hill Reserve will be home to the Red Hill Show for the 96th time. This year organisers recognise the cost of living crisis and have cancelled the Rich Fruit Cake competition, replacing it with the more accessible Undressed Pavlova competition. “Dried fruit, butter and energy have all shot up,” says Executive Officer, Bec Davis. “We were watching out fruit cake entries dwindle over the years. We made the hard decision to replace the comp with a pav which costs a third the price to make.” Live judging commences at 10am at the Mornington Peninsula Producers’ Paddock with Noela MacLeod AO from the CWA judging the comp. Host and food writer Richard Cornish (Good Food, ABC Radio) will be joined by former actor/dancer and local MP Paul Mercurio to judge the Golden Sausage Competition – with a rich $500 cash prize for the best sausage. Organisers are urging bakers to vie for the $500 prize for the best apple pie. Visitors to the family friendly show can taste local Mornington Peninsula Produce such BBQ sweet corn from Hawkes Farm, ciders made from local apples brewed by Mock, Harts Farm and Seven Oaks. Joining them are winemakers from Barmah Park and the award winning distilling team from Bass & Flinders. Local seafarers Harry Mussels will tell us about a life at sea raising amazing mussels and the seaweed growing team, also based at Flinders, Southern Seagreens will be giving out tasters of their freshly harvested and dried kelp. Back this year is the sweat and axemanship of the woodchop as hardened experts race to cut through great logs of solid hardwood. “We are lucky to have a competition this year, let alone play host to a Victorian Championship,” Bec commented. The mountain men and women from the Red Hill Football Club return with the height of athletic competition including some old time classics - Egg n Spoon Race, Tug of
War and the much-anticipated Gumboot Throw. Open to all to compete. You will need the help of a hound to enter the Novelty Dog Show which including Best Dressed Dog, Dog Most Like Its Owner and Happiest Dog. Looking after country the show is home this year to Willum Warrain Bush Nursery, an ILLUM Aboriginal community-owned bush nursery specialising in local indigenous plants from the Mornington Peninsula and environment zone displaying alternative energy sources including solar power, electric vehicles & farm equipment. Monash Uni will have on show their new solar powered generator. Interactive stalls to educate and engage. These join the cattle, sheep and poultry judging, the alpacas stand and the heritage sheds filled with fruit, vegetables, scones, cakes, artwork, cut flowers and other handicraft all vying for a much coveted blue ribbon. Lamb lovers will appreciate the Sheep Show including display by Binbarra farm of their cute Valais Blacknose and English Leicester Sheep and John Pederson, Luxton Black and his rare black Wiltshire Horn. Thanks to the Mornington Peninsula Shire, our sponsors and our community. The Peninsula, at its best will be on show Saturday 9th March.
96 th
RED HILL SHOW
Saturday 9 March 2024 | Labour Day Weekend
RIDES
FREE
WITH
ENTRY
Mornington Peninsula Paddock w Producers, Food, Ciders, Beers, Wine - Environmental Zone - Woodchop Australian Mountainboarders - Exhibits - Animals galore from rats to cattle - Agility & Novelty Dog Show Sheep Shearing - Working Dogs - Native Amimals - Gumboot Throw - Tractors - Local Live Music Art & Craft Stalls - Food Trucks - Kids sports games- Face painting - Carnival Rides and much more... ENTER your EXHIBITS NOW! | Red Hill Show Grounds | 8.30 - 5pm BOOK ONLINE and save via our website - ALL RIDES & ACTIVITIES FREE with entry ticket
www.redhillshow.com.au
Proudly supported by our major sponsors: Mornington Peninsula Shire, Community Bank Balnarring & District, Robot Trading, The Ross Trust, 3MP Easy Music, Hastings Mowers, Gendore Tractors & MP News Group
Create your own show experience! Frankston Times
27 February 2024
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