MICHELLE SLATER
By MICHELLE SLATER
The Victorian Electoral Commission has officially declared Martin Cameron as the new Nationals Member for Morwell, in an announcement on Monday morning. Mr Cameron contested against 12 candidates and won the seat by 54.44 per cent on a two-party preferred vote ahead of Labor candidate Kate Maxfield on 45.42 per cent. The incoming MP won Morwell with the help of Liberals preferences, polling 22.89 per cent on primary votes, behind Dr Maxfield, who was ahead on primaries with 31.44 per cent. Liberal candidate Dale Harriman finished-up with 15.51 per cent of the primary vote. The VEC is still expecting a final few votes to trickle in over the next few days, but this will not affect the final outcome. Results for the Upper House are expected to be announced on Wednesday in Melbourne. Mr Cameron said he had already sat in a Nationals Party room meeting and will sit in his first session of parliament on December 20. The former Traralgon plumber will be moving into the electoral office of the retired Independent Member for Morwell, Russell Northe, on George Street, Morwell. “It’s a really good feeling after all the hard work put in from the time I nominated, then going through pre-selection through to standing here today as the new Member for Morwell,” Mr Cameron said. “It was surreal going to Spring Street and standing on the front steps of parliament looking back at Melbourne. That was awesome.” Mr Cameron is being thrown into parliament amid uncertainty in the native forest industry and the future of jobs at the Maryvale paper mill. He said he would discuss these issues in the party room and take questions to the relevant newly sworn-in ministers. “I’m here to back the people of the Valley and especially Maryvale workers, but I don’t think they know 100 per cent what is going on at the moment. There needs to be some questions asked,” Mr Cameron said. “The Labor government can fix this by closing loopholes in the legislation. This will reverse the decision and then the forest industry can get back to supplying APM and keep workers working.” The incumbent Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath, said she “felt reasonably comfortable” that she would regain her seat in the Upper House. Ms Bath said she was buoyed by community advocacy that she had campaigned for in the past term, such as pushing for road safety upgrades in Walhalla and instigating the parliamentary inquiry in animal rights activism. “When people approach my office for assistance, we don’t ask who they voted for, I ask what their issue is and how we can support them to a better outcome,” Ms Bath said. “People see an MP as a mechanism to help solve their particular problem.”
