THE stage for an early election was set some time ago but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull bit the bullet on Sunday, calling a double dissolution poll for July 2.
Australians now face a long winter election campaign before polling booths open in eight weeks and candidates for the seat of Mallee are already on the hustings.
This year will be Member for Mallee Andrew Broad’s second election campaign after the Nationals MP won the seat in 2013.
Mr Broad won with 56.2 per cent of the vote, a 17.1 per cent swing against the Nationals, following the retirement of John Forrest, who held the seat for 20 years.
The incumbent will head to Swan Hill tomorrow for his first official campaign commitments in the region.
He told The Guardian he plans to run a “common sense” campaign focused on getting out and about and talking to voters.
“The people who live in the Wimmera and the Mallee are pretty smart people and they make an informed decision,” Mr Broad said.
Mallee is the Coalition’s safest seat and so far only two other candidates have indicated they will challenge Mr Broad — the ALP’s Lydia Senior and Helen Healy of the Greens.
When asked about how his campaign approach will differ to that of candidates in more marginal seats, Mr Broad responded frankly.
“I think the moment you start thinking you haven’t got to do the work is the time you lose the seat,” he said.
“I don’t do anything in halves — we’ll still do brochures, TV ads … we campaign pretty hard.
“As far as comparing to Indi (a marginal Victorian seat), I don’t think we really do anything much different. It’s the same old thing; get your name recognition out, be accessible and meet people.”
For more federal election coverage, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (May 11),
