Independent Jessie Price ran an effective and high-profile campaign for the seat of Bean. Photo: Region
It was barely two days out from polling day before the electorate of Bean even appeared on the radar at Labor campaign headquarters as a seat the Federal Government could lose.
ALP national secretary and campaign director Paul Erickson suddenly wanted to know about the contest in Canberra’s southern suburbs where there were only four candidates on the ballot, one of them backed by Climate 200, and none of them directing second preferences to Labor.
Why no one within the party’s campaign strategy team thought this was something they needed to worry about was the burning question.
Sources within the ALP have told Region the party never saw the threat coming from independent Jessie Price until it was too late.
A 12.9 per cent margin is rated a ‘very safe seat’ and in Labor-loving Canberra, the consensus was ‘nothing to see here’.
That thought was only bolstered by the national mood turning increasingly towards Labor and internal polling strongly suggesting the government was well on track for re-election.
Except for David Pocock in the Senate race, Labor thought there was nothing to fear in the ACT.
Why would the national campaign think Bean was at risk when its incumbent member didn’t?
Labor’s David Smith was safe – he thought that and the party thought that, if the party thought about it at all.
But the electorate, tired of being neglected and taken for granted, and now being offered a credible alternative, had different thoughts.
By the time that reality dawned on the ALP, early voting at pre-polling centres was well underway.
Just days before the 3 May actual election date, it became ‘Desperation Central’ for Labor regarding the seat of Bean.
Flyers printed in green and urging Greens voters to give Labor their second preference were not only handed out near some booths on election day, but were even mysteriously attached to some Greens corflutes.
The Australian Electoral Commission is now ‘examining’ these incidents after receiving official complaints from both the Greens and the Price camp.
The AEC itself was caught flat-footed over Bean even on election night.
Its two-candidate-preferred projections began the night showing the Labor-Liberal contest only, before realising it was on the wrong track.
With the realisation that the Liberals’ David Lamerton was trailing too far behind to be in contention, those projections were subsequently removed from the AEC’s online tally room, with nothing to replace them for quite some time.
That initial false assumption, which would have only been encouraged by the ABC’s Antony Green having predicted throughout the campaign that Bean would be retained by Labor, effectively delayed the count’s progress from being properly updated.
Since election night, the fortunes of both Smith and Price have ebbed and flowed as counting continued, with Ms Price in front by almost 200 votes and sitting on 50.1 per cent of the two-candidate-preferred as counting completed on all pre-poll and election day ballots.
There are still a few thousand postal votes to be received and counted, which could further delay the result for some days.
Ms Price fronted all the media on Thursday (8 May) while Mr Smith spoke to only one friendly outlet.
Both expressed their nervousness over the wait for the final tally, which will almost certainly be subject to a recount.
As it stands, Bean remains too close to call and, after a thumping national victory for the Federal Government, sticks out as an embarrassment for the ALP.
“I am optimistic, but there are still some outstanding votes to count, and it is very possible there will need to be a recount,” Ms Price said.
“We need to hang in there for a bit longer and let the wonderful AEC do their job.
“No matter the outcome, the community of Bean has won. Bean had a 12.9 per cent margin and was considered one of the safest Labor seats in the country.
“After a positive and enthusiastic campaign driven by our brilliant team of volunteers, we have come incredibly close – and we may still win.
“I could not be more proud of what we have achieved together. We have put Bean on the map and made our community and electorate a force to be reckoned with.”
