{"id":5624,"date":"2013-06-24T21:21:17","date_gmt":"2013-06-24T11:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=5624"},"modified":"2022-05-02T00:31:33","modified_gmt":"2022-05-01T14:31:33","slug":"costello-country-higgins-by-gemoo4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/costello-country-higgins-by-gemoo4\/","title":{"rendered":"Costello country: Higgins by @gemoo4"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5626\" alt=\"higgins-redist\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/higgins-redist.jpg?resize=600%2C271\" width=\"600\" height=\"271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/higgins-redist.jpg?w=600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/higgins-redist.jpg?resize=300%2C135&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/maps.google.com.au\/maps?f=q&amp;source=embed&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=https:%2F%2Fdl.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fu%2F9887056%2Fnofibs.v1.0.kml&amp;sll=-36.605471,145.469483&amp;sspn=7.159137,16.907959&amp;t=h&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=-37.851001,145.06485&amp;spn=0.162654,0.412674&amp;z=11&amp;iwloc=lyrftr:kml:cXOw0bjKUUFyFhwbWXe764TbOsCjlHu0uBStTr03wYKHxkQA,g25e3df4c24a3abd6,-37.864284,145.045967&amp;output=embed\" height=\"300\" width=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<small><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-align: left;\" href=\"https:\/\/maps.google.com.au\/maps?f=q&amp;source=embed&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=https:%2F%2Fdl.dropboxusercontent.com%2Fu%2F9887056%2Fnofibs.v1.0.kml&amp;sll=-36.605471,145.469483&amp;sspn=7.159137,16.907959&amp;t=h&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=-37.851001,145.06485&amp;spn=0.162654,0.412674&amp;z=11&amp;iwloc=lyrftr:kml:cXOw0bjKUUFyFhwbWXe764TbOsCjlHu0uBStTr03wYKHxkQA,g25e3df4c24a3abd6,-37.864284,145.045967\">View Larger Map<\/a><\/small> This @NoFibs Electoral Map is kindly provided by <a title=\"Paul Davis\" href=\"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/paul-davis\/\">Paul Davis<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tallyroom.com.au\/aus2013\/higgins2013\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Higgins Seat Profile<\/a><\/p>\n<p>by\u00a0<a title=\"Georgie Moore\" href=\"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/georgie-moore\/\">Georgie Moore<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #333333;\">24th June 2013<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>One of the Liberal Party\u2019s safest Victorian seats, Higgins (formed in 1948\u201449) has hosted a string of high-profile representatives: including Harold Holt (1949\u20141967), John Gorton (1968\u20141975) and Peter Costello (1990\u20142009).\u00a0With incumbent MP Kelly O\u2019Dwyer set to retain a 5.4% margin (post the 2010 election and pre-redistribution the margin was 6.8%). Higgins is largely neglected by the media and political cycle. But I\u2019m interested in exploring what a blue-ribbon seat looks like during an election campaign. Is the seat so safe there isn\u2019t any substantial debate? Are the local Leader papers canvassing the policies of each candidate, or does the real political action occur within councils?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5627\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5627\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5627\" alt=\"Holt, Gorton, Costello, O'Dwyer\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/libs.jpg?resize=650%2C201\" width=\"650\" height=\"201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/libs.jpg?w=650&amp;ssl=1 650w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/libs.jpg?resize=300%2C92&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5627\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Holt, Gorton, Costello, O&#8217;Dwyer<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I see this coverage as a discussion for the sake of public discourse, rather than to push an agenda. The electorate of Higgins requires intelligent analysis and hard reporting. My coverage will step away from partisanship to look at Higgins from all perspectives\u2014dominant and marginal. It will seek truth, not ideology.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Community snapshot<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Higgins is an inner-metropolitan seat covering the suburbs of Armadale, Ashburton, Central Park, Darling, Hawksburn, Heyington, Kooyong, Malvern, Malvern East, Prahran, Tooronga and Toorak. It also covers parts of Camberwell, Carnegie, Glen Iris, Hughesdale, Murrumbeena, Ormond, South Yarra and Windsor.<\/p>\n<p>According to electorate surveys from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kellyodwyer.com.au\/higgins-survey-results\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2012<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kellyodwyer.com.au\/latest-higgins-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2013<\/a>, the private health insurance rebate and support for non-government schools remain top concerns. This is unsurprising, given almost all of Higgins\u2019 43 schools are private. Opposition to the carbon tax remains high, while opposition to the mining tax has risen over the past year.<\/p>\n<p>Fears around border security have also skyrocketed. Support for local business remains steady, but is not a high priority compared to cost of living pressures. Interestingly, the cities within Higgins\u2014Stonnington, and parts of Glen Eira and Boroondara\u2014form part of Victoria\u2019s six most prosperous municipalities.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5628\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5628\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5628\" alt=\"Toorak2-600x400\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Toorak2-600x400-300x200.jpg?resize=300%2C200\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Toorak2-600x400.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Toorak2-600x400.jpg?resize=600%2C400&amp;ssl=1 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5628\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mansion in Toorak<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Tackling local crime and mental health investment remain low priorities. Environmental issues are considered least important. Same-sex marriage is perhaps Higgins\u2019s most divisive issue, with equal rates of opposition and support.<\/p>\n<p>Higgins enjoys a relatively high voter turnout, between 92 and 94 percent\u2014 excluding the 2009 by-election\u2014and low rates of informal votes, between two and three percent.<\/p>\n<p>The candidates<\/p>\n<p>Incumbent O\u2019Dwyer ascribes to \u2018big-l\u2019 Liberal policies, with the exception of her support for same-sex marriage. She tows the party line on asylum seekers, and the carbon and mining taxes\u2014despite conceding human activity contributes to climate change. Prior to the Liberal leadership spill in 2009, O\u2019Dwyer also<a href=\"http:\/\/progress-leader.whereilive.com.au\/news\/story\/o-dwyer-hits-back-at-climate-critics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> supported<\/a> then-leader Malcolm Turnbull\u2019s Emissions Trading Scheme.<\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Dwyer opposes Labor\u2019s amendments to the private health insurance rebates, despite her party supporting part of the changes. She also opposes the Gonski and childcare reforms around universal access and the National Quality Framework. The Liberal\u2019s hold is secure but not as strong as it once was. Since the 2004 election, the party\u2019s margin has fallen 3.4%.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5629\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5629\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-5629\" alt=\"historic_buildings_on_chapel_st_prahran\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/historic_buildings_on_chapel_st_prahran.jpg?resize=480%2C360\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/historic_buildings_on_chapel_st_prahran.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/historic_buildings_on_chapel_st_prahran.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5629\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chapel Stree,t Prahran<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Labor is putting forward first-time candidate, international student advocate and 2010 Young Victorian of the Year Wesa Chau. She is part of \u2018Labor for marriage equality\u2019, and is campaigning for Swinburne\u2019s Prahran (TAFE) campus and a rail link from South Yarra to Kensington. Chau also founded the Australian Federation of International Students in 2002.<\/p>\n<p>The party has traditionally run relatively low profile and first timer candidates in the seat with the exception of the 2009 by-election, where it abstained. The past two elections have seen small but ultimately insignificant swings to Labor, which has not won more than 31 percent of the vote over the past decade.<\/p>\n<p>The Greens are putting forward <a href=\"http:\/\/www.heraldsun.com.au\/leader\/central\/greens-candidate-james-harrison-kits-up-for-strike-on-liberal-strong-hold-of-higgins\/story-fngnvlpt-1226665498964\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harrison<\/a> for one of its strongest seats. The party grabbed 17.9 percent of the Higgins vote in 2010 and 32.4 percent in the 2009 by-election. The Greens also enjoyed a boost in last year\u2019s council elections, with three candidates elected across the Stonnington and Glen Eira city councils.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5630\" style=\"width: 301px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5630\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5630\" alt=\"Prahran-Mkt-083\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Prahran-Mkt-083-e1372065956463.jpg?resize=291%2C270\" width=\"291\" height=\"270\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5630\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Prahran Market<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But Harrison was the centre of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theaustralian.com.au\/national-affairs\/greens-candidate-james-harrison-caught-out-in-dorothy-dixer\/story-fn59niix-1226591089268\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">controversy<\/a> earlier this year after failing to declare his candidacy when quizzing opposition deputy Julie Bishop on climate change on ABC\u2019s Q&amp;A. Fellow guest Greens leader Christine Milne also failed to declare Harrison\u2019s position as she used the question to defend the carbon pricing and $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corp.<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen whether The Greens will manage to maintain the 7 percent swing in their favour from the 2010 vote.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Citizen journos report 2013 election democracy in the seat where they live\" href=\"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/citzen-journos-report-2013-election-democracy-in-the-seat-where-they-live\/\">More Citizen Reports on Seats<\/a><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>View Larger Map This @NoFibs Electoral Map is kindly provided by Paul Davis Higgins Seat Profile by\u00a0Georgie Moore 24th June 2013 One of the Liberal Party\u2019s safest Victorian seats, Higgins (formed in 1948\u201449) has hosted a string of high-profile representatives: including Harold Holt (1949\u20141967), John Gorton (1968\u20141975) and Peter Costello (1990\u20142009).\u00a0With incumbent MP Kelly O\u2019Dwyer [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3434,675,3546,66,585,844],"tags":[2629,900,2630,899,901,902,364,843],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/historic_buildings_on_chapel_st_prahran.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t0mw-1sI","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5624"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5624"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56703,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5624\/revisions\/56703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}