The battle for Gilmore has begun to resemble an auction. Pledges made by one side in recent weeks are being matched this week.
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Funds pledged for a respite care home in Ulladulla by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during his visit a fortnight ago were matched by Labor this week.
A $2 million pledge for expanding detox services at the Tripe Care Farm at Jamberoo made by Liberal candidate Ann Sudmalis were lost in the fanfare of senior Labor figure Tanya Plibersek’s visit to Nowra. Ms Plibersek was in town to announce – guess what – $2 million towards a detox centre.
While not matched exactly, Defence Minister Marise Payne’s visit to Gilmore to announce a $20 million job creation program for the South Coast were countered by Labor’s promise to return $18 million to education to the region. It says that money has been lost because of the Coalition not funding the full Gonski program.
As it goes down to the wire in the remaining week of the campaign, we can expect this bidding for votes to intensify.
That’s to be expected in a marginal seat which the latest local polling suggests could very change hands after 20 years of being in the Coalition fold.
A ReachTEL poll of 3777 voters on Monday night suggested that Labor was ahead of the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis by six points. If that poll is reflected at the ballot box on July 2, Labor will take the seat.
Even with the full margin of error, the end result can be predicted to be extremely tight, a reality both major parties would be factoring into their plans for the final week of the campaign.
Just as Labor can smell blood in Gilmore, the Coalition would be sensing the chill winds of defeat. So voters can expect a further frenzy of announcements and pitches.
However, if social media can be any kind of barometer, the avalanche of promises may well fall on deaf ears.
Almost every time we post our election stories on Facebook they are met with the same question: Why leave it to the eleventh hour to make promises?
This is to be expected with every election campaign but even more so in one that has been stretched out for what to many seem like eternity.
There’s a very real possibility the growing flood of voters using the pre-poll is a reflection of campaign fatigue.
For many voters, it will come as a great relief that the end is in sight.