Swing time

By Alesha Capone
THE Labor Party retained their seats across Brimbank during the State Election on the weekend, but with reduced margins as the Liberals recorded large swings in favour of their candidates.
In the Footscray area, which includes part of Sunshine and Brooklyn, the Liberals gained a swing of 9.1 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.
The ALP’s Marsha Thomson held her seat, but with a swing of 10 per cent against her in the primary vote count.
The Opposition candidate Ken Betts and Greens candidate Janet Rice both recorded swings of more than eight per cent to them in Footscray.
“Don’t fall for any of that nonsense that Labor doesn’t care about the West. The West is our heartland, and we will keep delivering,” Ms Thomson said after her victory.
In the Keilor electorate, Natalie Hutchins from the ALP won the seat but there was a 7.9 per cent swing to the Liberal Party on a two-party basis.
In the primary votes, there was a 7.4 per cent swing against the ALP, with Liberal Damon Ryder gaining a swing of 6.4 per cent.
Despite the vote being too close to call across the state on Saturday night, ALP representatives remained upbeat about the government’s chances.
At a post-election function in Keilor, Ms Hutchins said, she was honoured “to be nearly declared the winner” and “there’s a big job ahead of me”.
“There have been some swings against Labor across the state, but I haven’t lost hope we can retain government,” she said.
“I know there’s a lot of work to be done in the West.
“I think getting a real change in roads and eliminating some of the traffic blackspots and bottlenecks will be a priority, for example Melton Highway and Sunshine Ave, Kings Rd and Taylors Rd and Calder Park Drive off Melton Highway.”
Within the Derrimut electorate, which includes Albion, Ardeer, Derrimut, Sunshine North and Sunshine West and parts of Deer Park, St Albans and Sunshine, there was a 7.6 per cent swing to the Liberals on a two-party preferred basis.
In the primary vote count, sitting MP Telmo Languiller held onto his seat, but with a 12.8 swing against him.

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