Labor’s Sam Rae will be the MP for the newly created seat of Hawke despite a sizeable protest vote for the minor parties and independents.
Hawke, which covers Sunbury as well as Diggers Rest and Bulla, was established after an electoral distribution and is considered a notionally safe Labor seat.
With 72 per cent of the vote counted as of 2pm Sunday, May 22, Mr Rae led the Liberal Party’s Enamul Haque 57 per cent to 43 per cent on the two-party preferred count.
That represented a notional swing of 2.8 per cent against Labor, with the party polling 37 per cent primary vote.
The Liberals garnered 26 per cent of the first preference vote, ahead of the Greens’ Lynda Wheelock and independent James Bingham, who both won 8 per cent.
Despite leader Craig Kelly visiting the electorate, the United Australia Party’s Andrew Cuthbertson claimed only 7 per cent of first preferences, followed by Nick Suduk of One Nation on 5 per cent.
Mr Rae is a former state secretary of the Victorian Labor Party who was working at PricewaterhouseCoopers before winning preselection in Hawke.
Labor promised to build an urgent care clinic in Sunbury and a $250,000 road upgrade at Ligar Street, Sunbury, as well as $400,000 for Federation Park in Darley.
It will also put $10 million towards planning work to upgrade the Western Highway.
