By CASEY NEILL
Martin Pakula on the campaign trail in Springvale with Senator Jacinta Allan. 97512 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS
MARTIN Pakula is unfazed by a 15 per cent swing against the Labor Party in Saturday’s Lyndhurst by-election.
The ALP candidate won the seat vacated by party mate Tim Holding, who retired in February.
He’d won the seat with 55.47 per cent of the overall vote at the 2010 election, 65.29 per cent in 2006 and 68.26 per cent in 2002.
According to the latest results as the Star went to print, Mr Pakula received 40.96 per cent, or about 12,800 votes.
“We were never under any illusion about the difficulties of maintaining a high primary given the well-publicised issues with our primary vote across Australia,” Mr Pakula said.
“By-elections have traditionally been used by voters to register their concerns about the major parties, and in this instance the only major party in the field was us, as the Liberals cared so little about issues in Lyndhurst they didn’t even bother to run.”
Mr Pakula said he would represent Lyndhurst residents’ concerns over public transport investment, TAFE cuts, manufacturing job losses, and health service funding shortfalls.
Family First candidate Stephen Nowland polled about 14 per cent of the vote, Democratic Labor Party candidate Geraldine Gonsalvez about 11 per cent, and independent Hung Vo almost 10 per cent – up from 3.57 per cent in 2010.
Green Nina Springle polled just over 9 per cent, up from 6.13 per cent in 2010.
The Sex Party’s Martin Leahy captured 8.48 per cent of the vote, and independents David Linaker 4.36 per cent and Bobby Singh two per cent.
Ms Gonsalvez said Labor taking a hit was an advantage for residents living in the seat of Lyndhurst.
“We will no longer be taken for granted and our issues will now have to be taken seriously and be attended to,” she said.
“There is obviously no more room for procrastination, complacency or lazy political leadership.”
Ms Gonsalvez said support from the community for the Democratic Labour Party was “uplifting”.
“What a beautiful, generous sense of community we still do have in Noble Park, in an age where generally people seem to look the other way even when help is needed, or be much too preoccupied with their digital gadgets to even notice anyone anymore,” she said.
Mr Vo responded to claims from voters that at a polling booth he said the Sex Party needed “more chicks” while gesturing inappropriately at his chest.
“My comment about ‘more chicks’ was playfully made to point out that I had mainly seen males representing the Australian Sex Party at the polling booths I had visited,” he said.
“I expected a party that bases a large part of its platform on the interests of women to have a few more females visible on polling day.
“It wasn’t a criticism, just an observation, and we are all entitled to our opinion,” he said,
“I do not believe my comment was offensive, but apologise to anyone who might have found it so.”
Ms Springle said a positive swing towards the Greens showed the message was getting out that the party was actively engaged in all government policy areas.
“This was especially evident in the new estates in Keysborough where we more than doubled our vote from 2010, reflecting support for our position on a better bus system, infrastructure and a new school for Keysborough,” she said.
