in that time.” Mr Hogan also said Australia had exceeded its emission targets and was performing better than countries like New Zealand, Japan and Canada. A Federal Government report last year noted: “Emissions in the year to March 2021 were 494

Page resists teal wave

TIM HOWARD

While a teal wave might have played a huge part in sweeping the LNP government from office in Saturday’s Federal Election, in the seat of Page, it barely generated a ripple.

Sitting Nationals member Kevin Hogan has been returned for a fourth term as its member, increasing his two-party preferred margin by more than 3% with about 80% of the vote counted.

Mr Hogan said on Monday that his party had weathered the electoral storm which has thrown its Coalition partner, the Liberals, into turmoil.

“We went into Saturday on with 21 seat and came out with 21 seats. We lost no ground,” he said.

“It was inner city electorates that the push to the Greens and the Teal candidate had the most effect.”

Mr Hogan, who faced a Teal Independent in Hanabeth Luke, said it would be presumptuous of him to offer advice to the Coalition on how to counter their appeal to voters.

Ms Luke attracted just 11.97% of the vote after a determined grassroots campaign in the dramatically flood affected region.

Mr Hogan said being a local member “was not rocket science”.

“I am a community representative first and foremost and a party politician a very distant second,” he said.

“For the past eight years, not just the past six weeks, I got out and talked to people in the community.

“I see them on the street, I go into the shops and businesses to meet with them.

“I know how they’re feeling and what’s important to them.”

Mr Hogan said he had demonstrated this with his opposition to coal seam gas mining.

“I could see what the community was feeling on this issue and while it went against what some in my party were saying, I disagreed with them,” he said.

For the first time since he was elected in 2013 Mr Hogan will be an Opposition Member of Parliament.

But he is confident he will still be able to represent the electorate and ensure it does not miss out.

“The first thing I will do when the new ministry is sworn in is to invite the new Minister for Emergency Services to come to Page and join me for a walk around flood affected regions,” he said.

Mr Hogan said while the State Government took the lead in flood recovery planning, there had already been massive inputs from the Federal Government in flood relief payments, paid via Centrelink.

“I think it’s been around $1.3 billion in NSW over the past two months,” he said.

Mr Hogan said comments the government fell because of its record on climate change did not reflect the achievement it made in renewable energy.

He said focus on the government’s failure over a number of years to come up with meaningful energy policy overlooked other achievements.

“The government pumped more than $1 billion into solar rebates for people putting solar panels on their roofs,” he said.

“In practical terms the percentage of solar energy in the grid has risen from 11% to 25% in that time.”

Mr Hogan also said Australia had exceeded its emission targets and was performing better than countries like New Zealand, Japan and Canada.

A Federal Government report last year noted: “Emissions in the year to March 2021 were 494.2 million tonnes – 5.3% or 27.8 million tonnes lower than the previous year. They were 20.8% lower than in 2005 (the baseline year for the Paris Agreement).”

Mr Hogan said while there was a focus on the argy-bargy over policy emissions had lowered.

“We’re exceeding what we’ve agreed to do on lowering our emissions,” he said.

While it will be different for Mr Hogan on his return to Canberra, there is one thing he hopes doesn’t change, playing tennis against now prime minister Anthony Albanese.

“I sent Anthony a text message congratulating him on his win,” Mr Hogan said. “He sent back saying thanks and inviting me to play our next match at The Lodge.

Mr Hogan said it was quite common for politicians to form friendships across the aisle.

“Albo and I found we both played tennis to about the same standard and so we enjoy playing against each other,” he said.

“What I did notice that when he started to trim down recently he became a lot faster around the court.

“Over the same time I’ve lost around 12kg too, so I’ve been able to keep up with him.”

In other Northern NSW electorates, the Nationals have also performed well.

In New England Barnaby Joyce has been returned comfortably.

In Cowper the Nationals’ Pat Conaghan looks like he will be returned although the numbers looked worrying on Saturday night.

The counting in Richmond continues with postal votes looking like deciding who will win a three-way contest between incumbent ALP representative Justine Elliott (23,498), Nationals Kimberly Hone (19,533) and the Greens’ Mandy Nolan (20,785).

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