EDITORIAL
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It would be easy for the Liberal Party to blame demographics for another loss in Bendigo, and to move on.
Since 1996, an electoral seat in Bendigo – whether state or federal – has been up for grabs 17 times. Labor has won them all.
In 2013, when Labor was on the nose across Australia and sitting MP Steve Gibbons had retired, a massive swing of 8.1 per cent almost delivered a victory for the Liberals – but not quite.
As Malcolm Turnbull approaches a possible hung parliament with a highly volatile senate, it would be unlikely the Liberals could produce a unifying government to win Bendigo at the next election.
But does it all have to come down to politics and demographics?
The surface was barely scratched on some of the biggest issues facing Bendigo – unemployment and under-employment causing disadvantage, schools struggling to cope in growing suburbs, community health providers under pressure, and a lack of access to justice for the poorest.
These were situations that were all made worse by the 2014 budget.
The areas where these are the biggest issues overwhelmingly voted for Labor. Eaglehawk, Long Gully, North Bendigo, Golden Square and Kangaroo Flat rejected the Liberals.
To win Bendigo, they need to win these areas. They may blame the rusted-on Labor-voting families, but that’s underestimating those who feel the effects of cuts.
During his visit to Bendigo at the end of 2014, former Liberal employment minister Eric Abetz summed up their approach to unemployment and disadvantage: “I would simply encourage (young people) to try even harder when times are tougher, and they will ultimately succeed”.
It reeked of placing people in the too-hard basket, returning to “dole bludger” rhetoric.
Only when people feel marginalised and stigmatised will they opt out of society. If they have access to quality health and education services, they will only use safety nets temporarily to prop themselves up.
It’s meaningless to make cuts to essential community services in a race towards a budget surplus when, in reality, governments have many fiscal levers to pull – they are not like households.
An electorate like Bendigo will almost always be out of reach unless the concerns of the most vulnerable in our community are better addressed.