{"id":47157,"date":"2019-05-09T16:56:28","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T06:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=47157"},"modified":"2022-05-02T12:52:21","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T02:52:21","slug":"the-liberal-campaign-in-kooyongvotes-an-ausvotes-dinosaur-adropex-reports-activedemocracy-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/the-liberal-campaign-in-kooyongvotes-an-ausvotes-dinosaur-adropex-reports-activedemocracy-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Liberal campaign in #KooyongVotes an #AusVotes dinosaur: @adropex reports #ActiveDemocracy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cutting his parliamentary teeth in the Tony Abbott opposition of the 43rd Parliament, Josh Frydenberg could be excused for thinking that with a blue-ribbon seat and a bit of judicious backing in the leadership spills he was set for life. Certainly, since winning the seat of Kooyong in 2010, his rise through the Liberal Party ranks has been swift as others have fallen by the way, culminating in his appointment as Treasurer and Deputy Liberal Leader when Scott Morrison assumed the leadership in August 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kooyong is an affluent inner eastern Melbourne electorate. A Liberal heartland seat, its 55 square kilometres is home to eight of Melbourne’s most elite private schools. In its 112 years Kooyong<\/a> has had just seven members, all from the conservative side of politics, and can boast a Prime Minister and party leaders among them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a Liberal primary vote of 57.7 per cent and a 2CP margin of 12.8pc in 2016, Kooyong does not look like it would be a seat under threat. However, under threat it is with a strong Independent and a high profile Greens candidate shaping as serious challengers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No such thing as a safe seat<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s political environment, there is a greater number than ever before of uncommitted voters and that means that there is no such thing as a safe seat any more, not even on 12.8pc.<\/p>Treasurer Josh Frydenberg as quoted in the <\/a>Sydney Morning Herald<\/a><\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Frydenberg puts it down to “uncommitted voters” but does not address why voters are no longer rusted-on and unconditionally voting with the ‘tribe’ as they have in the past. It is not as if he is personally unpopular in the fashion of Sophie Mirabella, a contributing factor in her spectacular loss of Indi in 2013. Across much of Australia and certainly most of Victoria, voters are no longer prepared to accept ‘generic’ party politicians sprouting talking points and running negative campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So I had lunch on one of #KooyongVotes<\/a> busiest shopping strips. Saw the Liberals\u2019 anti Bill Shorten billboard towed by a few times. They\u2019re spending a lot for such a safe seat.<\/p>— Ms Mountebank (@MsMountebank) May 5, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>