INCUMBENT Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson will have a clear run at pre-selection with local National party members putting forward no other candidate to contest for the 2019 election ticket.
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National Party members will meet at the Werris Creek bowling club on Saturday, September 22 to formally endorse Mr Anderson to vie for the seat for a fourth time.
Despite recent leadership turmoil in the federal coalition and New England Nationals’ MP Barnaby Joyce resigning from ministerial posts amid revelations of an affair with a staffer, state electorate council chair Jim Booth doesn’t believe it’ll have an impact on the campaign.
“People can tell the difference between state and federal issues, even the least interested people should know the difference,” Mr Booth said.
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“Part of the campaign will be what Kevin has done in the eight years since he was first elected.
“Come next year, I can understand people are upset about the changes federally now, but I think they will have moved on.”
Mr Anderson was first elected in 2011 and first contested the Tamworth seat in 2007.
To date, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Jeff Bacon is the only confirmed Tamworth candidate for the March 23 election.
We wouldn’t put anyone up if we didn’t think we could win.
- Tamworth ALP president Mick Lawler
Tamworth Labor president Mick Lawler said the party had selected a candidate but wouldn’t reveal who it was to The Leader.
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Running against the incumbent Nationals MP was no small task, but Mr Lawler said Labor “wouldn’t put anyone up if we didn’t think we could win”.
Mr Lawler believed city-centric coalition decisions could see regional voters turn away from the government at the polls.
“One of the major issues being talked about is the money being spent on the stadiums in Sydney and not on infrastructure in the bush,” he said.
“They’ve sold WestConnex and we won’t see anything out of it.”
He said law and order, transport, jobs, school maintenance and TAFE would be the main issues in the election.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
