Vol. 16 No. 47
FREE PUBLICATION
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Of lands past... Amber Schellens, 9, of Horsham gets caught up in Horsham’s Art is... Layers of Time festival at a Museum of Lands Past. Amber is pictured studying a sculpture of a dinosaur. The festival continues into the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. Story, page 5. Picture: MELISSA POWELL PHOTOGRAPHY
Red-hot race in Ripon C
BY LAUREN HENRY
andidates have listed health, education, infrastructure, jobs and economic growth as the key election issues in Ripon.
A state-wide redistribution of the electorate of Ripon is set to make the seat one of the most hotly contested in the state election in November. With Member for Ripon Joe Helper retiring from politics before the next election, new Labor candidate Daniel McGlone faces an uphill battle to retain the seat for Labor in an election where holding onto regional seats will be crucial. Mr McGlone, a criminal lawyer
IN THIS ISSUE
from Ballarat, is up against Liberal candidate Louise Staley, a Willaura North grain grower, ex-footballer and Ararat identity Scott Turner, who is standing for the Nationals, and the Greens’ Rod May. The major changes to the electorate’s boundaries have experts tipping Ripon to change from having a 2.7 percent Labor margin to an estimated Liberal margin of 1.6 percent. The electorate boundary shake-up means Ripon now stretches from Snake Valley, on the outskirts of Ballarat, in the south, to Charlton and Wedderburn in the north. It will include the municipalities of
Buloke, Northern Grampians, Ararat, Pyrenees, Hepburn, Central Goldfields and Loddon. Ripon is renowned for its agriculture, wine, timber industries, manufacturing, wool, paper milling, knitting mills and nature-based tourism.
Impact
The changing boundary will mean an even greater variety of industries, communities and issues for the incoming member. The only surety is that Ripon will for the first time in 15 years have a new representative. Mr McGlone listed health, education, infrastructure and economic
growth as the priorities for Ripon. He said manufacturing opportunities, particularly in Ararat, needed government support. “The key issues are varied because there are different interests, depending on urban and rural areas,” he said. Ms Staley said jobs were the number one issue for Ripon. “We must deliver strong economic growth, localised training options and lower business taxes to maximise the jobs available and attract the right mix of people to fill those jobs across Ripon,” she said. “Upgrading the Western Highway and delivering bypass planning for
Beaufort and Ararat is vital to the electorate. Further funding for country roads is also one of my priorities, particularly to manage the problems caused by more B-doubles on back roads.” Mr Turner said roads, employment rates and youth issues were among key election issues. Boosting sport and recreation facilities is also another priority for Mr Turner, who said he would work hard to secure funding for improvements. • The Weekly Advertiser interviewed the candidates from the three major parties ahead of the election. See page 9.
• Ararat Blue Ribbon Ball • Jeparit Vintage Rally • Auto guide • Hockey champs
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