The cheers and jeers from an Albury pub might show just how strange the historic byelection in Farrer will be. The celebrity presenter Karl Stefanovic dropped into the small Riverina city for a live podcast show on the eve of the byelection. Set up on a stage in Beer Deluxe’s beer garden, five of the contest’s 12 candidates sat closely together.
Major Parties Fade as One Nation and Independents Rise
Through the Farrer looking glass, major parties fade as One Nation and independents come into focus. Pauline Hanson’s party is tipped to win the byelection triggered by the resignation of Sussan Ley, but the Nationals are also expected to lose votes to an independent. With headline acts such as Nationals leader Matt Canavan and One Nation’s Pauline Hanson – both Queenslanders who live more than 1,000km away – it’s a crowd that any right-leaning candidate would feel at home with.
The hot favourite, One Nation’s David Farley, spoke to a mostly sympathetic audience donned in the rightwing populist party’s fan gear. Stefanovic encouraged the crowd – which appeared filled with decided voters or campaign volunteers – to heckle as much as possible. “We’re not like those Sky News people. We don’t mind heckling. You can heckle away,” the Today show host said.
“Yes, or no,” a small contingent of loud audience members donned in One Nation fan gear shouted as Michelle Milthorpe, the Voices for Farrer-backed candidate, attempted to answer a question on her support for net zero. Stefanovic sheepishly interrupted the jeerers: “Let’s try to listen.”
The Liberals’ Raissa Butkowski and the Nationals’ Brad Robertson were onlookers for most of the streamed panel. The two are outside chances to win the seat the Coalition has held for 76 years.
Media Access Controversy
Outside, a small team of ABC journalists stood by the pub’s entrance after they were removed from the venue following a request to pub staff by Hanson’s chief of staff, James Ashby. Ashby had earlier on Friday booted out local ABC reporters from a press conference within One Nation’s campaign headquarters and denied entry to another ABC team.
All Eyes on Farrer
Friday night’s event underscored what the residents of Albury have known for some months: the small border city, and the rural electorate it sits in, has become the centre of Australian politics. A cavalcade of high profile political MPs – and media stars – have descended on the electorate in recent weeks.
The contest in Farrer epitomises the loosening grip of the major parties. The byelection, triggered by the resignation of former opposition leader Sussan Ley, is expected to be won by either One Nation, the insurgent rightwing populist party peeling votes away from the Coalition, or by an independent candidate.
Candidate Backgrounds
Farley’s road to becoming One Nation’s candidate has been a hot topic in recent weeks with critics and opponents casting doubt over his loyalty to the minor party. The Narrandera agribusiness consultant was once a Nationals branch member before considering a tilt as an independent and local Labor member. Guardian Australia revealed on Friday the extent of his earlier cooperation with the independent movement.
Farley admitted he had considered a number of political avenues before joining One Nation but denied ever undergoing a pre-selection process for Labor when Robertson pressed him on it. “What I want to dabble in is the truth - that was just fucking nonsense,” Farley said.
One Nation’s closest competitor will probably be the Voices for Farrer-backed independent, Michelle Milthorpe, who has also had to deal with criticism about where her loyalties lie. The former teacher and mum of three from Jindera has accepted $20,000 from the Climate 200 fundraising vehicle, which has successfully backed inner-city and suburban independents, known as “teals”. Milthorpe has previously told Guardian Australia she and the teals have “got nothing in common” and she doesn’t answer to Climate 200’s organisers. “It’s weak and lazy criticism,” she said.
Last Minute Pitches
There was a flurry of activity on the final day of campaigning in Albury. The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, joined local candidate Raissa Butkowski on the hustings before delivering the Liberals’ last-minute pitches. “We are about restoring Australia’s standard of living and protecting their way of life,” Taylor said in the seat the Liberals have held for 25 years. “We need the numbers to be lower, to be in line with the housing we have in this country … that means putting Australian values at the centre of our immigration policy, and it means shutting the door on people who don’t share our values.”
Half an hour earlier, Pauline Hanson had caused a stir by denying ABC reporters entry to her press conference. In front of a small press pack in the populist rightwing party’s campaign office, the One Nation leader said everyone she spoke with wanted change for Farrer.
Hanson also assured voters Farley had made a commitment to stay with One Nation, if elected – despite suggestions to the contrary. The minor party’s main policies also centre around cutting immigration levels but the rural seat relies on skilled migrants to fill vacancies, particularly in healthcare. Hanson said she didn’t want to cut immigration altogether but Australia had to first “clean up [its] own back yard”. “I’ve said right from the beginning, 130,000, right?,” she said, referring to the party’s policy to cap migrants at 130,000 per year. “I don’t want to cut it all together, because I’ve been speaking to businesses and people, especially in rural and regional areas, [have said] that they need the workers.”
The Local Healthcare Question
Another major issue on the minds of Albury’s residents is its struggling local hospital in the city’s east. The NSW and Victorian governments have committed to a $558m redevelopment of the hospital, acknowledging wait times and bed shortages. And, there are reports that the building’s foundations are sinking and shifting. But the main candidates don’t agree about how best to resolve the glaring issue for one of NSW’s fastest growing regions.
Milthorpe wants planning to begin immediately for a new hospital in the growing regional population, rather than a short-term fix. “We cannot continue with a project that is going to cost money for taxpayers without giving us any new, real benefit,” she said on Friday. “We had 91 beds short the other day, and they’re proposing a new site, a new development, that has 35 beds. You know, anyone can do the maths.”
Robertson and Butkowski are open to the idea of a new hospital but in the meantime, the Coalition is backing the hospital’s redevelopment. Farley is hesitant to back a new hospital build in the region immediately, and would prefer to wait for the redevelopment’s completion before investing billions of dollars into a new site.
By the end of the night, or perhaps on Sunday, we’ll know just how much change the people of Farrer want.
