Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis won’t read much into leaked polling numbers that claim she’s losing hold of her electorate, saying she’ll fight to win the poll that counts – the election.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Seven Network reported on Thursday night that Liberal Party polling in seven “must-win” electorates across the state, including Gilmore, didn’t paint a great picture for the Turnbull government’s re-election.
The television report suggested Labor was making “significant gains” in Gilmore and indicated Mrs Sudmalis held a slim lead - 50.2 per cent to Labor candidate Fiona Phillips’ 49.8 per cent.
A Liberal Party source told the Mercury the numbers were incorrect, while the party’s national campaign director Tony Nutt moved immediately to refute the claims.
“The report on a major television network tonight [Thursday] about claimed ‘internal Liberal Party polling’ is completely false,” Mr Nutt said in a statement.
“No such polling was conducted for, nor provided to, the Liberal Party.”
Mrs Sudmalis wasn’t fazed by the speculation her seat was at risk.
“I’ve never treated Gilmore with anything other than ‘must work hard to keep the seat’,” she said.
“I have had the same mental attitude, saying to myself ‘you need to work hard to reassure the people you can actually achieve things for them’.
“I guess my problem is I’m not actually very good at bragging about what I do achieve.”
Among her recent achievements, Mrs Sudmalis said she had secured $15 million from the federal government’s Black Spot Program since the 2013 election – a figure the MP believed was the most of any electorate in the country.
“Road safety might not grab the headlines, but it is vital to communities throughout Gilmore,” she said.
“Too often we see the tragic consequences that occur when road standards are not up to scratch.”
After a federal budget that delivered little for the Gilmore electorate – or the wider Illawarra – in terms of infrastructure investment, Mrs Sudmalis is now gearing up for an election fight.
“I have always known that there are people here who don’t know me as well as they knew the previous member [Joanna Gash],” she said.
“She had such a good following that they weren’t all necessarily Liberal voters, so I have a lot to pick up and I have known that the whole time, so I’ve never stopped working.”
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to visit the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove, this weekend to officially call a July 2 poll.