Helen Conway and the Big Oil debate | The shift to thrift | 4 new restaurants
March 2023 Issue 21
News and views for North Sydney’s residential and business communities
www.northsydneysun.com.au
North Shore candidates from left: Felicity Wilson (MP, Lib), Godfrey Santer (Lab), Michael Antares (IMOP), Helen Conway (Ind), James Mullan (Green), Lachlan Commins (SAP), Victoria Walker (Ind)
March 25 NSW state election Willoughby candidates: Tim James (MP, Lib), Larissa Penn (Ind), Sarah Griffin (Lab), Edmund McGrath (Greens), Michael Want (SAP)
State Liberals under challenge By Grahame Lynch With less than two weeks to go before the March 25 NSW state election, local Liberal MPs are fighting a rearguard action to sure up their support base in the face of twin challenges from an ascendant Labor and the independent movement. With NSW Labor placing well against the Coalition at a state-wide level in polls, there are strong expectations of swings to Willoughby candidate Sarah Griffin and North Shore candidate Godfrey Santer. Also presenting a strong challenge to the Liberal incumbents are high-profile Willoughby independent Larissa Penn and North Shore challengers Helen Conway and Victoria Walker. Adding to the contest is a spritely campaign
from the Greens’ James Mullan. In North Shore, which covers the Mosman LGA and most of North Sydney LGA south of Falcon St and Military Road, sitting Liberal MP Felicity Wilson is defending a 61-39% margin. As in 2019, Wilson is facing challengers from both independents and the Greens and Labor. In that election, independent Carolyn Corrigan placed second with around 9,000 primaries but only scored about 6,000 preferences from the eliminated candidates to end up with 15,000 votes, way short of Wilson’s 21,000. Teal-backed independent Helen Conway is regarded as the main challenger this time, but her immediate goal is to score more primaries than
Labor and the Greens, and attempt to score enough of their preferences to close the gap on the Liberals. Her task has been assisted by the decision of both the Greens and Labor to give her their second preference, and not without some rancour from party members in the case of the latter, who lament that the independent isn’t returning the favour and isn’t entitled to favouritism. STRONG LABOR POLLING: Labor polled strongly in a published opinion survey late last year—at 29% of the vote—with an unnamed independent scoring 23%. A new Climate 200 poll, reported in the Daily Telegraph but unseen but the Sun, had Labor sliding back to 17% and the independent, now named as Conway, on
18%. ConwayGodfrey likely needs Santerto lift to at least 6,000 votes or 12% behind Wilson’s primary, at worst, to be assured of enough preferences to overtake her, assuming she pulls ahead of Labor which is not a given. Another independent, Victoria Walker, is also running on a similar set of values and policies, which further complicates the picture for Conway’s trajectory. Wilson has received a boost with the decision of intending independent candidate and former Mosman mayor Simon Menzies not to run. Menzies had earlier indicated an intention to run on a pro-Beaches Link tunnel platform, in protest against the government’s decision to To page 2
Cost of living a big issue in Willoughby electorate says MP Willoughby state MP Tim James says voters are telling him that the cost of living is a big issue in the electorate as he faces a strong challenge from independent candidate Larissa Penn and Labor’s Sarah Griffin. James told the Sun that “I’ve been out every day at bus stops, doorknocking, in the community and visiting businesses, and the issue raised most frequently is cost of living. Interest rate rises and inflation are placing considerable pressure on family budgets. I know many people are doing it tough at the moment. And everyone is busy so it’s not always apparent what people can do to meet these challenges
– this is no surprise but perhaps how much help is available for local people is a surprise.” James said the NSW government has introduced 70 ways to save money via ServiceNSW pointing specifically to toll relief and child care help. “We are about easing pressure and want to help all people in Willoughby. The Liberals and I have a positive, caring plan to invest in the quality infrastructure and services our community needs – new and upgraded schools, public transport such as the Sydney Metro and improved health services. None of this is possible without a credible economic plan to deliver
it,” he said. Independent challenger Larissa Penn—who was only 3% off beating James at last year’s by-election, is picking up different signals from the electorate. “The feedback I am receiving is that there has been a lot of “listening” but little to no action since the by-election. The community feels that nothing has changed which shows that their concerns are being heard and acted upon. I love our community and our environment. I love where I live and have spent the last 6 years fighting to protect it by advocating for more financially and environmentally sustainable
alternatives to those being pursued by the current state government at enormous cost. We are told we are being heard but in fact things are worse. The time for listening has passed. We need meaningful action now in the face of high impact toll roads, overdevelopment and degraded services,” Penn told the Sun. Labor’s Sarah Griffin is also hearing about the cost of living and links it to a mood for change. “We are detecting a solid mood for change in the electorate. However, I am surprised, in this long held Liberal To page 2