Election takes shape

by Aidan Knight
Just give it 81 days. Narracan residents should prepare for things to get a whole lot more political as the November 28 state election approaches.
A longstanding safe Liberal seat, the electorate has had just two consecutive terms away from the blue major party since it's creation in 1967, in the ALP's Ian Maxfield (1999-2006).
Incumbent Wayne Farnham, who holds the seat with a 13 per cent margin, now faces a contest of at least five other candidates including Janette Langley (ALP), Ben Lucas (One Nation), Alyssa Weaver (Greens), Geoff Dethlefs (Family First) and Moss Page (Victorian Socialists).
While declared a Liberal landslide only two hours after voting closed in 2023, the Liberal margin was reduced 6.7 per cent with the election of Mr Farnham whose 45 per cent primary vote dropped from former Member for Narracan Gary Blackwood's 51.7 per cent in 2018.
"I'm very confident we can form government," Mr Farnham said ahead of his official campaign launch on Saturday night, attended by party leader Jess Wilson.
He said residents "really want a change of government," and a Liberal government would deliver where the current Labor government hadn't.
"They've had enough, and whether it's, you know, crime or cost of living, or a hospital, or a royal commission, you know, all these things are stacking up, and we've been very, very clear on what our plan is for those things."
One Nation candidate Ben Lucas will take on the Narracan contest after previously vowing to run elsewhere, and having previously stood aside as an independent in 2022 to support Mr Farnham's election prospects.
"If all I do is marginalise it, that's a win," he said. "It's one the safest seats in the state - or even the country just about, and it's got to change."
This approach echoed that of independent Tony Wolfe at the previous state election, who walked away with 11.21 per cent of the primary vote, and admitted he was disappointed that a race of 11 contenders failed to make the seat marginal.
Mr Lucas is approaching the polls with confidence, and thinks ON will do well "regardless of the eventual outcome."
Returning Greens candidate Alyssa Weaver walked away third last time, securing 11.10 per cent of the primary vote.
Ms Weaver suggested last election her party benefitted from the absence of an ALP candidate, but this time stated despite losing that edge, "the more candidates the better, we need people from every side of democracy to feel represented."
She said she was walking into "the race" with her focus shaped more from last year's federal election. "One in every 10 people in Narracan voted Greens number one last year. I'm there for that one in 10 people."
While she has yet to hold elected office, Ms Langley is one of the more experienced candidates in the field, having campaigned across local, state and federal levels over a number of years. She stood in the 2024 Baw Baw Shire Council election and previously contested Latrobe City Council, the federal seat of Gippsland and the Eastern Victoria Region for Labor.
Making the switch in candidacy from federal to state, Family First's Geoff Dethlefs said values were the most important thing to think about when voting this time around.
"We need a government that treasures children, supports families and stands for biological truth."
Newcomer Moss Page, endorsed for the Victorian Socialists Party, began his campaign in mid June because the options available for voters was "too depressing."
"I felt a responsibility to make sure at least people in my district have an option - a choice for real change," the Drouin resident said, although facing the facts that "obviously we are going against decades of propaganda against socialist policy."
Narracan campaigns have long reflected the changing political landscape of West Gippsland. In 2014, only two candidates had officially nominated by the close of nominations, although voters ultimately had a broader field to choose from.
Four years later, five candidates contested the seat, including two independents, with independent Guss Lambden drawing the coveted top position on the ballot paper. Community representatives have also have regularly entered the race. Former Baw Baw Shire mayor Annemarie McCabe contested the 2023 supplementary election, while Drouin businesswoman Leonie Blackwell stood for the Freedom Party in 2022, campaigning on issues including government transparency, jobs and families.
The last state election saw 11 candidates contest Narracan seat after 16 years under the the Liberal leadership of Gary Blackwood.