Clover stronger than ever

Clover Moore recorded her best result yet in last Saturday’s election and will return for her fourth term as the member for Bligh.

She received almost 40 percent of the (provisional) primary vote -“ compared with 23 percent for Labor’s Barri Phatarfod, 20 percent for Liberal Shayne Mallard and 13.5 percent for Anita Ceravolo of the Greens.

This week, Moore told Sydney Star Observer that she had had a few concerns about the high turnover rate of residency in Bligh since the last election. As many as 50 percent of Bligh’s voters were not part of the electorate in 1999.

I think my support comes from people who have lived in the area for a little while, because I’m working on the things that they’re concerned about, she said. They are the areas where my support increased.

Interestingly, the areas where the Labor and Liberal parties experienced the biggest swings against them were in the areas where they are usually the strongest.

Labor suffered an almost 20 percent swing against them in the Redfern booths, while the Liberals experienced a 3.5 percent swing against them in the eastern suburbs booths.

Moore said she thought the Liberals ran a very aggressive campaign but she always thought the contest would be between her and Labor.

Not only did they [the Liberals] not pull ahead, but their vote reduced, Moore said.

Mallard said he was not surprised at the result but said he was disappointed not to pick up more of the primary vote. Party polling conducted in February showed he might pick up only 18 percent of the primary vote, he stated.

The outcome says to me that I have to work even harder to win the support of the community, Mallard said, before confirming that he will be seeking election to Sydney City Council in September.

Labor candidate Barri Phatarfod was not available for comment this week, but Rainbow Labor spokesperson Ryan Heath said he thought most Labor votes probably went to the Greens in Bligh. This, he said, suggested that people in Bligh want Labor to support gay and lesbian law reform and the peace movement.

It seems as though Bligh will be Clover’s until Clover decides to retire, Heath said.

Ceravolo described Moore as a very effective incumbent, but claimed that if Clover wasn’t around, the Greens could win Bligh, citing the high level of voter support for the party in Port Jackson and Marrickville.

She said it was her intention to stand for Bligh as Greens candidate in 2007.

Moore said the 2003 campaign was markedly different from contests in 1995 and 1999.

It wasn’t one that was fought out in the dailies, as it has in the past, she said. The 95 and 99 campaigns were reported extensively in the Herald. This one wasn’t controversial at all really -¦ which I quite welcomed, in a way, being able to get on with it without having gay and lesbian issues sensationalised, which is what I think the mainstream press did in the past.