Close counts expected in the Narre Warren seats

By Callan Date
VOTERS in the electorates of Narre Warren North and South will head to the polls on Saturday and help decide the future direction of their local area and Victoria.
After months of solid campaigning, the five candidates in the North and four in the South will wait anxiously as about 70,000 residents cast their vote.
Political experts are predicting a close overall win to Labor, while bookmakers have Liberals as a $7.50 chance and Labor at $1.06 shot to win government.
However, both the local electorates look like being closely contested seats.
Voters in Narre Warren North will have the choice of retaining sitting Labor MP Luke Donnellan or ushering in a new member with Liberal candidate Mick Morland, Australian Greens candidate Bree Taylor, Family First representative Peterine Smulders and People Power candidate Ian Murphy.
Mr Donnellan, who holds the seat by 9.8 per cent, said he expected a tight result and would not be surprised if the final result was unknown on the night.
“It will be very close. I will be out in the Timbarra and Oatlands area on the day,” he said.
Mr Morland said he had lived and worked in the community for many years and hoped this would appeal to voters. He also said he expected a tight result on Saturday.
In Narre Warren South, sitting Labor MP Dale Wilson was defeated by Judith Graley in the party’s pre-selection process.
Ms Graley said Narre Warren South was a marginal seat and with that the party expected a close finish.
Narre Warren South Liberal candidate Michael Shepherdson will need a 12.6 per cent swing to control the electorate. He said his campaign team expected a tight finish once all votes had been counted.
Family First candidate Bronwyn Rawlins and Australian Greens member Meg Tanti have pushed their policies to voters and hope to draw votes away from the major parties.
Polling centres will be open from 8am to 6pm on Saturday.
Timbarra Primary School at Parkhill Drive, Berwick is a major polling centre for Narre Warren North.
Narre Warren South voters can head to a major polling centre at Narre Warren Community Centre in Malcolm Court, Narre Warren.
A full list of polling booth locations can be found at www.vec.vic.gov.au