Labor on track to take Liberal Party’s Chisholm, Higgins in 2022 federal election
Labor is on track to win two Liberal Party seats in eastern Melbourne, including what would be a historic victory in the former Liberal stronghold of Higgins.
The ALP is at the forefront of Chisholm’s ultra-marginal electorate, including Mount Waverley, Burwood, and Box Hill, where the sitting member is first-term Liberal Gladys Liu.
With over 22 percent of the vote counted, ABC’s election computer has predicted a victory for Labor candidate Carina Garland.
Gladys Liu was elected in 2019 in Chisholm. (MONKEY: James Ross)
Ms. Garland is an academic and former Victorian Trades Hall Council Assistant Secretary.
Chisholm has changed hands in recent decades between the Liberal and Labor parties, often by a slim majority.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, and up and down arrows for volume. Voters queue up at the polling station in Chisholm’s crucial seat on Saturday morning.
In the last federal election, both major parties nominated candidates with a Chinese background.
It was a first in Australian political history and reflected that about one in five people in the Chisholm the electorate are of Chinese ancestry.
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Chisholm was the state’s most marginal seat in the 2019 vote when it was won by the Liberal Party’s Gladys Liu by a margin of 0.5 percent.
There were 12 candidates on the ballot this year, so preferential flows of the underage candidates could play a vital role as more votes are counted.
Infectious disease doctor on his way to a historic victory
In Higgins, Labor’s Michelle Ananda-Rajah, an infectious diseases doctor who rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, is on track to defeat first-term Liberal MP Katie Allen.
Labor candidate for Higgins Michelle Ananda-Rajah is a former doctor. (ABC News: Leanne Wong)
dr. Allen, a pediatrician, held the electorate at a margin of 2.6 percent after the 2019 poll.
The Liberal Party has held the seat in southeastern Melbourne since it was founded in 1949 and owned by two former Prime Ministers – John Gorton and Harold Holt.
Traditionally a safe Liberal seat, Higgins – like many inner-city voters in Melbourne – has recently experienced increasing support for the Greens.
Katie Allen kept the seat by a narrow margin after the 2019 vote (ABC News: Leanne Wong)
Higgins was the site of controversy today due to green-colored placards urging people to “put Labor last” erected over the electorate.
Labor took the matter to federal court, which issued an injunction to remove the signs.
Election Essentials:
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, and up and dhandsrows for volume. Watching time: 2 minutes 57 seconds2m 57s Antony Green says it will be a long night.
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Posted 9m ago9 minutes agoSat 21 May 2022 at 10:49 am, updated 3m ago3 minutes agoSat 21 May 2022 at 10:54 am
