Barring some act of God, Nationals candidate Brendan Moylan will be easily elected as the replacement MP for the Northern Tablelands at the by-election on 22 June.
Yesterday’s announcement of candidates and ballot draw revealed no serious contender has stepped forward to contest the seat held strongly by the National’s Adam Marshall since 2013. Mr Marshall unexpectedly resigned to pursue a corporate career.
Serial candidates dominate the uninspiring line up, with only one unknown name – Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Ben Smith. He landed the number one spot on the ballot meaning he will probably get some bonus votes from the donkey voters, but little is known about the man who is from Wollomombi. His own party haven’t so much as done a Facebook post about him. It is believed to be the same Ben Smith from Wollomombi who appeared in a film about shooting feral cats some years ago.
Armidale Regional Councillor Dorothy Robinson is representing the Greens. She may do a little better than her last run at the seat, where she garnered 5.74% of the vote, thanks to the Labor Party not contesting the by-election.
The two independent candidates, Natasha Ledger and Duncan Fisher, are both from Uralla. Ms Ledger is a well known candidate, who secured a total of 496 votes the last time she ran for this seat in 2023, 31 votes more than she got in her failed tilt at Mayor for Uralla in 2021. Mr Fisher has had a number of different business ventures.
National’s candidate Brendan Moylan is a solicitor at the respected Webb and Boland in Moree, and has been busily following Adam Marshall’s example of being everywhere and shaking as many hands as he can on the campaign trail.
Concerns will be raised about poor turnout due to the lack of contest in the election and the result being a foregone conclusion.
The candidates, in order on the paper, are:
- Ben Smith (Shooters, Fishers and Farmers)
- Dorothy Robinson (Greens)
- Natasha Ledger (Independent)
- Duncan Fischer (Independent)
- Brendan Moylan (Nationals)
Early voting centres will open on 15 June, with election day being 22 June. Postal vote applications close on Monday 17 June. There will be no iVote or online voting this election.
More information about the by-election is available from the NSW Election Commission. https://elections.nsw.gov.au/elections/state-elections/2024-northern-tablelands-state-by-election
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