By “On The Ground In Eden-Monaro”

As part of our coverage of the key seats that will decide the 2010 federal election, our reporter gives us an overview of the events and outcome in the famous bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro on the NSW South Coast.

Eden-Monaro is a seat that allows journalists to use the word ‘bellwether’ without being laughed out of the office.

As its name implies, the seat has generally covered the southeast corner of NSW, the far south coast and the adjacent tablelands inland.

The seat has gone with the party that has formed government since 1969. The NSW redistribution chopped off bits west of the great divide that were picked up in the last redistribution – the timber towns of Tumbarumba and Tumut – and included Batemans Bay on the south coast.

On paper this makes it a bit harder for the incumbent ALP candidate; Dr Mike Kelly, former Army lawyer and general man-of-action. He now has a margin of two fifths of FA, instead of three-fifths.

The Liberals have preselected a Liberal staffer; David Gazard, who previously worked as a press secretary to John Howard, Peter Costello and Tony Abbott.He has nominated specialist health services and roads as the big issues.

Greens candidate Cath Moore has run three times for the similarly marginal state seat of Monaro so is no stranger to campaigning. Moore also sits on Palerang Council, which overlaps the northern reaches of the electorate.

Like elsewhere around the country the election is being greeted with a frustrated sense of ennui. There are no blinding issues, such as WorkChoices was in 2007. There is little visible presence from any of the candidates apart from press-release style stories in the local Rural Press papers.

Smaller and localised issues abound. The timber industry is bewailing a lack of saw logs – yet this is a state issue.

Kelly has used his incumbency well. Appearing like a black-haired Bundy Bear behind group photos each week in the local papers. He is a charmer and the slick Gazard will battle in the more rustic parts of the electorate, but will do well with the retiree communities along the coast.

The other factor is the winter election – only the third in the countries history. Eden-Monaro covers most of the habituated parts of the high country in NSW and logistics of polling day should be, as the Chinese say, interesting.

Tags: 2010 election, eden-monaro, julia Gillard, mike kelly, politics australia, Tony Abbott