Gabrielle Chan, political correspondent
theguardian.com, Wednesday 4 September 2013
Party rejects suggestions candidate's image has been removed from posters in Indi, where an independent poses a threat
Sophie Mirabella has held the seat of Indi, in rural Victoria, since 2001. Photograph: Alan Porritt/AAP
The Liberal party has rejected suggestions it has taken candidate Sophie Mirabella's image out of campaign posters in Indi, where the party is facing a strong challenge from rural independent Cathy McGowan.
A spokesman for Mirabella, who has been a controversial figure in the Coalition, said her image had been used in a range of material "right from the start".
"We have had her image in material right from the start but in any campaign we use a range of campaign material," the spokesman said.
Mirabella has held the seat of Indi, in rural Victoria, since 2001 and, on a margin of 9%, was expected to hold the seat easily.
But a challenge by McGowan, an agricultural consultant, has garnered unexpected levels of support, through her wide range of local contacts. Her sophisticated community engagement campaign through social media has built a momentum in the campaign.
McGowan said her volunteers, who number close to 500, reported widespread robo-polling and live phone polling last weekend. A range of senior Coalition ministers and former ministers have visited, including National party frontbencher Barnaby Joyce, former treasurer Peter Costello, the opposition communications spokesman, Malcolm Turnbull, and the health spokesman, Peter Dutton.
Also this week, emotive pamphlets urging against same-sex marriage were distributed, featuring children saying: "I need my mum and dad."
"It has taken people a while to work out what the pamphlets are about, but when they do work them out, people are turned off by it," McGowan said.
Signs have now been used saying: "An independent can't stop the boats – only the Liberals can stop the boats."
McGowan said while there was "enormous momentum" around her campaign, it would be impossible to read the outcome until Saturday. Already her campaign workers have trained as scrutineers for all 89 booths and they will load the results live onto her website as booths are counted.
"We have been training people for three weeks in the voting system and scrutineering and every week more people volunteer so whatever happens on Saturday, we will build on this. It is great to have so many people in Indi now politically engaged so that is a good thing."
Mirabella is the Coalition's industry spokeswoman and if Tony Abbott wins the election, she will be a minister in the new government.
McGowan has also won support from long-standing Victorian National party MP Ken Jasper.
"If Cathy can come forward and win the election, well then, we hope then we'll have someone really stand up for the people of Indi," Jasper, an MP for 34 years, told the Border Mail.
On his retirement, New England independent Tony Windsor famously gave Mirabella "the nasty prize" and urged locals to support McGowan.
"She [Mirabella] wins the nasty prize. The people of Indi, just have a look at your representative and see how much better you could do," Windsor said on the ABC Insiders program.
The Guardian has requested an interview with Mirabella.
