By Ethan Benedicto
A strong Labor Party win in the federal election spelled the same story for Bruce MP Julian Hill, who retained his seat and continued the streak that began in 2016.
Following a strong, and seemingly non-stop five-week campaign period, Hill said he felt “exhausted and humbled”.
“What we saw in Bruce was the largest swing to any incumbent MP across Australia, and I’ll work as hard as humanly possible each and every day to honour that trust,” he said.
Hill, as of 7 May, secured a decisive two-party preferred victory over Liberal Party candidate Zahid Safi with a margin of 29.38 per cent, true to Hill’s word as one of the largest swings to any incumbent MP.
As part of his campaign, Hill announced a swathe of funding commitments for the electorate, including the City of Casey, such as the Edwin Flack Reserve and Max Pawsey Reserve.
Speaking on priorities, Hill cited national cost-of-living measures, HECS relief, and manufacturing boosts, but also stressed that his role is national, and that he is “running to represent us in the national government”.
“This is a national role, and it’s a serious time for Australia, so my primary responsibility is (to be) the community’s representative in our national parliament to shape national policy that benefits us all.
“Some other politicians seem to spend their time pork barreling on local issues, that’s not my style.
“I do make sure we get our fair share, we’re getting more infrastructure funding, we’re getting more local sporting funding, and that’s important,” he said.
Reflecting broadly on his competition in Bruce, especially Liberal rival Zahid Safi, Hill refused to make a direct comment, citing the ongoing NDIS investigations that were first revealed by The Age earlier this month.
He said that “the Liberal Party in Victoria, just no longer presents as a credible alternative government”.
Considering that LNP leader Peter Dutton lost his seat of Dickson, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is the first to be elected twice since John Howard, Hill said that the result boiled down to the campaigns.
“The government put forward a coherent, constant, positive agenda for the next term of parliament, one that is focused on making people’s lives better and on setting Australia up for the future,” Hill said.
“You know, with respect to the Liberals, they had three years in opposition to come up with a single credible costed policy.
“But when they got there, the cupboard was bare, they were just like an angry complaints line that was so out of touch with modern Australia, words fail me.”
Soaking in the win, there aren’t plans yet for any downtime, with sights set ahead to making the next term as productive as can be.
“There’s no hubris or arrogance, it is genuinely humbling,” Hill said.
“The sense of responsibility for the challenges and opportunities in front of both me and the government is something to be taken incredibly seriously.”
