Croydon Electorate March 2014
4 Candidates
1 HOYLE, Cherie THE GREENS
2 ATKINSON, Michael AUSTRALIAN LABOR
PARTY
3 NOBLE, Glenda LIBERAL PARTY
4 NKAMBA, Nkweto (NK) FAMILY FIRST
PARTY
You would hardly know there is an
election on, walking around Brompton. The ALP incumbent Michael
Atkinson opposes stobie pole election placards – perhaps his main
re-election platform. On the Liberal side, Glenda Noble is putting
forward a pro-forma set of policies from her leader's website. At
this stage, only the Xenophon upper house group has a leaflet widely
distributed.
In the 2010 state election, Atkinson
had somehow managed to stir up a hornet's nest of opposition from an
assortment of local groups. Today, the eerie electoral quiet is
disturbed only by a solitary unemployed security guard outside the
Port Road electorate office holding up a daubed placard to the
passing traffic.
For this March 2014 election, changes
to the Electoral Act have reduced the numer of candidates – as with
the state generally, they are limited to the four mainstream parties
appearing on the Croydon ballot paper.
Particularly significant is the absence
this year of Save St Clair Reserve and Gamers4Croyden candidates –
given their single issue basis they scored well in 2010. Max Gallanti
for Save St Clair in particular achieved a creditable 5.8% of the
first preference votes, while Atkinson's first preference vote
dropped a massive 15.6% under the onslaught.
How much of this can he regain? Some of
the 15% - perhaps as much as 5% will be lost - for the rest of
Atkinson's incumbency at least - to the Liberals. The remaining 10% I
suspect the ALP would regard as coming back to them over the next
couple of elections. A result in March in Croydon which merely holds
ground at 51% of first preference vote to Atkinson would be a local
disaster for the ALP.
State wide, Croydon is not a key
marginal. Nevertheless, the internal ALP struggle is significant.
Atkinson's interference in other ALP seats is legendary – for
example, in the neighbouring seat of Adelaide, where the ALP sitting
member was defeated in 2010 by an unexpected swing almost as large
as his own, and against whom Atkinson conducted open warfare along
with the Adelaide City Council.
Likewise this election provides the
factional players the opportunity for blood letting, but in spades
this year since key former members of the ministry seem to have
accepted the premise that an ALP in opposition would be less
unpleasant an experience if their factional opponents were to fall in
battle on the way.
Thirty years ago, the ALP had a
grassroots presence in the electorate. In those
days, the last years of social democracy, residents would proudly
display an ALP election placade on their front fence. And speak for
their neighbours and their street as well. In my walk around the
suburb today, I encountered two placards – and those hardly even
spoke for their house, let alone their street.
These days, the “ALP” - at least in
the logic of its operation – is a recruitment agency specialising
in career opportunities. In the Atkinson department of this agency,
positions vacant range from state government to local council. The
Ombudsmans report into the St Clair land swap gives some idea of how
this agency operates. There's no suggestion this is illegal – just
that it's hard to square it away with participatory democracy.
