BENNELONG BY-ELECTION

I want to thank Kristina Keneally for her incredible campaign in the Bennelong by-election. 

 

Today, thousands of Liberal voters in Bennelong gave up on Turnbull and chose to support the Australian Labor Party.

 

More than one in every eight people who voted for the Liberals in Bennelong at the 2016 election changed their vote to Labor.

 

This was always going to be an all-but-impossible fight for Labor, but Kristina gave it her all and achieved a remarkable result.

 

Kristina ran a positive, energetic, issues-based campaign. She focussed on what matters to her community – Medicare, hospital waiting lists, cuts to schools and the second-rate NBN.

 

Bennelong voters heard Kristina’s message.

 

In circumstances where incumbents usually see a swing to them, the Liberals have seen a big swing against them – a brutal verdict on Turnbull and his out-of-touch government.

 

A swing this big across the country would see the Turnbull Government lose more than 20 seats.

 

Kaila Murnain and the NSW ALP have done a terrific job during this campaign – ably assisted by 4,000 volunteers making 60,000 phone calls and knocking on 50,000 doors.

 

I congratulate John Alexander on his victory tonight in a hard-fought campaign. There’s no doubt Kristina has given John the fright of his life, and I hope Bennelong now gets more effective local representation as a consequence.