By Belinda Nolan
REIGNING Gorton MP Brendan O’Connor has retained his seat, winning a convincing 72 per cent of the vote, ahead of Liberal contender Damon Ryder.
Mr O’Connor declared victory at around 8:30pm on Saturday during a low key gathering at his Keilor electorate office.
The returned MP told assembled ALP faithfuls that his electorate was deep within Labor’s heartland and residents continued to support the party, even in adversity.
But Mr O’Connor insisted he would not take his supporters for granted, saying he was acutely aware that he would be ousted if he failed to deliver for residents in his electorate.
When Star went to print, Mr O’Connor had recorded a 1.4 per cent swing in his favour over Mr Ryder under a two candidate preferred system.
But Mr O’Connor took a hit overall, with a 1.06 per cent swing against him, as more voters flocked to the Greens.
At the last election, Mr O’Connor retained the seat by a landslide, winning by a margin of more than 21 per cent, while the Greens secured 6.09 per cent of the vote.
Greens candidate Steve Wilson was flying high on Sunday, after securing 10 per cent of the vote, with 78 per cent counted.
“It’s a strong improvement on what we did last time so I’m very happy,” Mr Wilson said.
“I thought it would rise to about 8 per cent but was hoping it would get up to 10 per cent and it has, so it’s a good result.
“Hopefully it marks the start of a new trend in the West.”
Mr Ryder said he was disappointed in the results but felt he had waged a good campaign.
“Obviously I was disappointed but Gorton is what you call a safe seat so it was always going to be difficult,” Mr Ryder said.
“Regardless of the outcome I worked very hard in the electorate and got a good response from people in the community.”
Despite the strong local results, the mood remained sombre at Mr O’Connor’s electorate office on Saturday.
While toasting his own victory, Mr O’Connor lamented the heavy blow dealt to his government, with Labor losing the battle in key seats.
When Star went to print Australia faced the prospect of a hung parliament, with neither party looking likely to form a majority government.
“We have taken a really big hit tonight but it’s not over yet,” Mr O’Connor said.
He paid tribute to Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
“She’s a local Prime Minister who’s had to take the mantle because so many people said we needed help.
“In my view she’s done a great job.”
Mr O’Connor said he would continue to work hard to keep the loyalty of voters in his electorate.
“We need to make sure voters in Melbourne’s West continue to provide strong support for the Labor Party and that will only happen if we continue to look after our constituents,” he said.
