NAT 15.8%
Incumbent MP
Peter Ryan, since 1992.
Geography
Southeastern Victoria. The seat covers South Gippsland Shire and southern parts of Wellington Shire, and covers the towns of Foster, Korumburra, Leongatha, Mirboo North, Port Albert, Port Welshpool, Rosedale, Sale, Venus Bay and Yarram.
History
Gippsland South has existed continuously as a Legislative Assembly district since 1859. Apart from one term in the 1970s, the seat has been held by the Country/National Party continuously since 1929.
The seat was won in a 1922 by-election by Nationalist candidate Walter West. He lost his seat in 1927 to independent Henry Bodman, who died seven months after winning the seat. In the ensuing by-election, West regained his seat.
In 1929, West lost to the Country Party’s Herbert Hyland in 1929. He served as a minister in a number of governments from 1936 to 1952. In 1955 he was elected Leader of the Country Party. He served in this role until 1964, and held his seat until his death in 1970.
Gippsland South was won in 1970 by the Liberal Party’s James Taylor. He held the seat for one term before losing in 1973. He later served a term as an MLC for Gippsland province from 1976 to 1982.
The seat was won in 1973 by Neil McInnes of the Country Party. He switched to the Liberal Party in 1980, and lost his seat at the next election in 1982.
Tom Wallace won the seat in 1982 and held it until his retirement in 1992.
Peter Ryan won the seat in 1992. He remained a backbencher for the extent of the Kennett government, but he was elected Leader of the National Party after the 1999 election, and immediately moved to end the coalition agreement with the Liberal Party. He has led the Nationals for the last decade.
Candidates
- Peter Ryan (Nationals)
- Kate Jackson (Greens)
- Steve Boyce (Labor)
- John Hirt (Country Alliance)
Political situation
Gippsland South is a safe Nationals seat.
2006 result
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
Peter Ryan | NAT | 13,818 | 41.46 | +2.77 |
Steve Boyce | ALP | 7,413 | 22.24 | -6.29 |
Simon Wilson | LIB | 6,100 | 18.30 | +6.58 |
Jo McCubbin | IND | 2,281 | 6.84 | +6.84 |
Jackie Dargaville | GRN | 2,221 | 6.66 | -5.06 |
Clare Heath | FF | 1,357 | 4.07 | +4.07 |
Theo Alblas | CEC | 135 | 0.41 | +0.41 |
2006 two-candidate-preferred result
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
Peter Ryan | NAT | 21,932 | 65.81 | +4.96 |
Steve Boyce | ALP | 11,393 | 34.19 | -4.96 |
Booth breakdown
Booths in Gippsland South have been broken into four areas. Booths in South Gippsland Shire have been divided between South and West, with Wellington Shire divided between East and North East (which includes the town of Sale).
The two-candidate-preferred vote for the Nationals varies from 63% in the North East to 71% in the East. The Greens polled most strongly in the South, with 11%, compared to 3-7% in the remainder of the seat. Independent candidate Jo McCubbin’s vote was almost entirely concentrated in the area around Sale.
Voter group | GRN % | IND % | NAT 2CP % | Total votes | % of votes |
West | 7.12 | 1.79 | 67.27 | 10,745 | 32.14 |
North East | 3.56 | 15.30 | 63.26 | 9,498 | 28.41 |
South | 11.10 | 1.65 | 68.45 | 3,705 | 11.08 |
East | 5.83 | 4.66 | 71.30 | 3,185 | 9.53 |
Other votes | 8.39 | 6.90 | 62.44 | 6,294 | 18.83 |
In 1970 the Country Party directed preferences to Labor (which led to unlikely Labor victories in western Vic) however this led to a backlash among conservative voters and presumably this accounts for the 1970 loss.