THE POLL BLUDGER
House of Representatives Election 2007

COWPER
Nationals 6.6%

After covering most of the length of the New South Wales north coast at federation, Cowper has since been shrinking into the area around Coffs Harbour. It currently extends north to Brooms Head and Maclean and south to Kempsey, which it has gained with the latest redistribution. The seat was held for an epic 42 years by Earle Page, who was elected in 1919 as a candidate of the Farmers and Settlers Party, became a founding father of the Country Party in 1920, and served for three weeks as Prime Minister in 1939 following the death of Joseph Lyons. Page contested the 1961 election despite being 81 and suffering from lung cancer, from which he died 11 days later without knowing he had finally lost his seat. The successful Labor candidate was Frank McGuren, who had achieved consecutive double digit swings as candidate in 1958 and 1961. He was unable to repeat the feat in 1963, and the seat soon returned to its safe Country Party ways, despite close calls in 1972 (2.5 per cent) and 1983 (2.1 per cent). Current member Luke Hartsuyker came to the seat in 2001 upon the retirement of Garry Nehl, outpolling a Liberal candidate 29.9 per cent to 15.9 per cent, and picked up a 1.7 per cent swing in 2004. Labor's candidate was inititally to be local area health service worker John Fitzroy, who had been the sole nominee for preselection. However, the party decided to reopen nominations in late September so it could install training consultant Paul Sekfy, which was seen to reflect Labor's growing confidence it could win the seat. Sekfy had earlier run for Labor in 1993, 1996 and 1998 without cutting the margin below 4.1 per cent.

Cowper was one of the main targets of the federal government's announcement in early October that it would spend $1 billion upgrading the Pacific Highway, which runs through the electorate on its way from Sydney to Brisbane, to a dual carriageway along its full length.