Monash now ‘marginal’ after lucky 13th Broadbent win

THE Federal electorate of Monash, stretching from Phillip Island and Longwarry in the west to Toora, Mirboo North and Moe in the east is now officially a ‘marginal’ seat.

According to the interim results published by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on Saturday night, the Liberal’s Russell Broadbent looks likely to take the seat with 52.53% of the two-party preferred vote, over Labor’s Jessica O’Donnell.

But an allocation of preferences will be needed to make the result official and there’s some chance at least, given the way the votes have been spread across the eight candidates, that the outcome could be even closer than it appears.

Here’s how the candidates polled:

• Mat Morgan (The Greens) 7240 (9.57%)
• Russell Broadbent (Liberal) 28,177 (37.25%)
• Deb Leonard (Ind) 8330 (11.01%)
• Allan Hicken (Pauline Hanson’s One Nation) 5776 (7.53%)
• David Welsh (AFP) 531 (0.70%)
• Jessica O’Donnell (Labor) 19,707 (26.05%)
• Meg Edwards (Liberal Democrats) 2883 (3.81%)
• Christine McShane (United Australia Party) 3008 (3.98%)

If, as expected, Mr Broadbent takes the seat, it will be his 9^th Federal election victory in a remarkable 13-election career, going right back to his first foray into politics in 1984 – almost 40 years ago.

At his first two tries, Mr Broadbent lost elections in 1984 and 1987 in the Division of Streeton. He won Corinella in 1990 but lost in 1993. He won McMillan in 1996 but lost again in 1998. He recontested and won McMillan in October 2004 and has won the seat at each of the last six elections in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2022; making him one of the most experienced, if not the most experienced MP in the Australian Parliament.

Mr Broadbent is yet to officially claim victory in the seat but the likely outcome was widely declared for him by the media on Saturday night.

Labor’s Jessica O’Donnell, who earlier in the day gave herself an outside chance of winning, told the Sentinel-Times that simply making the seat “marginal” was a victory for the people of Monash.

“Hopefully, now the improvements needed in Monash; in aged care, child care, health and housing, among others will get the attention they deserve.”

Locally, Phillip Island’s Deb Leonard was delighted with the 11% of the vote she achieved the first time around.

“I’ve got a lot of people to thank for supporting me. It’s a great start that we can build on the next time around.”

While Ms Leonard was able to dominate voting at local polling places in Bass Coast where the Phillip Island-based lawyer is best known, she acknowledged that she need to improve her recognition factor in West Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley to make a real contest of it next time.