The itineraries and social media appear below
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Hi all,
Well, we’re nearly there. By Saturday night we’ll probably know who the Premier is, and we MAY know who our local member is.
It’s been a funny election campaign. It lost some momentum for the Christmas break (at least from a voter's perspective) and then the Queensland election and the theatre of #Libspill combined to steer attention away from the NSW election.
So it took a while for the election to gain our attention, but it's made up for that in recent weeks.
I think it was the renowned philosopher Ron Burgundy who said “Boy, that escalated quickly.”
Goulburn (the city) now seems certain to get a new or improved hospital whoever wins thanks to the ALP commitment to a $270 million hospital yesterday, on the back of the Liberal announcement of $120 million for a hospital some weeks ago.
It’s hard to figure out the Labor's logic in making their announcement so close to the election. It was obviously too late for those who've already voted, and you could argue it may not get the same amount of publicity and traction it might have if announced earlier.
When political parties drop in something like this so close to an election, it’s often to avoid close scrutiny from the media or their political adversaries, and I have to say, that's how this looks. No matter who wins, humble journos will no doubt draw attention to promises kept and promises broken, so if a promise isn't kept it will come back to hurt the candidate/politician, but whether they think four years ahead is another matter.
My twenty cent's worth... I believe it will be very close in this electorate. At the beginning of the week I would have said Pru would win by 3% but it’s hard to know if the Labor hospital counter-offer will have an impact. Will it influence anyone?
Even though she doesn’t believe it’s a genuine commitment, Pru seemed to think it may sway some voters, as she posted this video on Thursday…
… and then, just to be sure, this one on Friday.
Previous form doesn’t shed much light on this year’s likely outcome.
The 2011 election offers no genuine comparison due to the ALP’s cynical and dismissive nomination of a Party staffer based in Sydney who never so much as visited the electorate. And if you go back four years more, the very popular former mayor and Independent candidate Paul Stephenson ensured Labor finished outside the top two. So there isn’t any satisfactory gauge to compare this too, especially when you factor in the electoral boundary changes.
This election, then, is the first head-to-head NSW election for Goulburn between a strong Liberal candidate and a strong Labor candidate, without any major third competitor, for 12 years. The election may NOT be close, but it has the potential to be.
Anyway, let's wrap this all up. Fairfax newspapers in the Goulburn electorate have endeavoured to provide you with as much information and detail as possible to assist you in your decision-making.
The print editions have included plenty of election related stories, policy detail and letters to the editor and online we’ve added some video content, including one or two hospital announcements, the candidates pitches (thanks to the four candidates who participated) and some of the forums.
We've also uploaded a few additional special features, such as “Behind the Candidate” profiles (thanks to the three candidates who participated) and an overview of key issues for this electorate.
So, it's time. Go and vote already.
Here are the itineraries for the final week, reprinted (as always) in the order received.
- Thursday, March 26: Polling Day preparations (Goulburn)
- Friday, March 27: Polling Day preparations (Goulburn)
- Saturday, March 28: Polling Day
- Thursday, March 26: Goulburn
- Friday, March 27: Pre-poll and telephone calls.
- Saturday, March 28: Travelling around the electorate, starting in the Highlands.
- Saturday, March 28: Gundaroo