THE POLL BLUDGER
New South Wales Legislative Assembly Election 2007

HAWKESBURY
Liberal 14.6%

Hawkesbury includes the north-western Sydney outskirts centres of Berowra Waters, Rouse Hill and Kurrajong Heights, also extending north into the Wollemi and Yengo national parks. The redistribution has moved it south-eastwards into the outskirts of the city, adding more than 12,000 voters around Glenhaven from The Hills (which has been renamed Castle Hill). To the east of this area, Cherrybrook and its surrounds have been ceded to Hornsby at a cost of 6700 voters; to the west, 8500 voters in Grose Vale, Kurmond and Richmond North have been moved to Londonderry. The seat has existed in one form or another since 1859, barring the interruption of proportional representation from 1920 to 1927, and has been won by the Liberals at each election since 1950.

Hawkesbury has been the scene of a Liberal Party preselection coup for the second successive election, with current member Steven Pringle (left) dumped in October in favour of Right-backed Ray Williams (right), a Baulkham Hills councillor and bus maintenance worker. It was reported that Pringle lost control after an influx of Lebanese Maronite Christians swelled membership of the Beaumont Hills branch from 17 members to 500; according to the Sydney Morning Herald, this included 120 members who transferred from a branch in Hornsby after Peter Debnam insisted Left faction incumbent Judy Hopwood keep her seat, thereby denying them an influence in the preselection there. Brad Norington of The Australian reported that these operations were overseen by bankrupt property developer David Baynie, who also played a role in shoring up support for Greg Smith against Pru Goward in the contest for Epping. Norington's report also said Pringle had made "a number of enemies who dislike his style and past opposition to some building developments in the area".

Pringle reacted to his defeat by quitting the party and reiterating the popular theme that it had become "controlled by an exclusive sect, an extremist right-wing group", of which the "Godfather" was upper house MP David Clarke. This prompted a rebuke from the Prime Minister, who described him as a "hypocrite" and a "sore loser". The former judgement was based on the manner of Pringle's own preselection at the 2003 election, when he ousted Kevin Rozzoli with support from what Simon Benson of the Daily Telegraph described as "right-wing extremists as well as the left". Pringle will attempt to hold his seat as an independent, and the venom of his recent attacks has led to doubts as to whether he will support a Coalition government if independents hold the balance of power. Joe Hilderbrand of the Daily Telegraph recently reported that Labor has been feeding him Dorothy Dixers in parliament.

It seemed an awful stroke of bad luck for Steven Pringle when another candidate bearing his surname drew top spot on the ballot paper. However, Pringle said he smelt a rat with respect to Australians Against Further Immigration’s Gregg Pringle, telling the Penrith Press: "I was surprised and somewhat flattered, but then discovered he doesn’t even come from within the electorate. Now you have to be suspicious. Why would anyone with the same surname, from outside the electorate, nominate for Hawkesbury, just two weeks out from an election?" One explanation might be that the AAFI, in its determination to field no fewer than 71 candidates, was relaxed about their connections to the electorates they were running in.

ASSESSMENT: Liberal retain