THE POLL BLUDGER
New South Wales Legislative Assembly Election 2007

ORANGE
Nationals 5.9%

The city of Orange is located in the far south of an 11,867 square kilometre electorate that extends north to Wellington and Mudgee. It has been significantly redrawn with the redistribution, which has pushed it northwards and cut the Nationals margin by 1.2 per cent. In the north-east, 11,000 voters in and around Mudgee have been gained from Upper Hunter, while in the north-west, 5000 voters in the Shire of Wellington have been added from Dubbo. In exchange, it has lost 10,000 voters around Cowra to Burrinjuck in the south; 2500 voters at Canowindra and Eugowra to Dubbo in the south-west; and 1500 voters in Blayney Shire to Bathurst in the east. The seat has existed without interruption since 1859, barring the period of proportional representation from 1920 to 1927. It was last in Labor hands in 1947, and has since been held by the National/Country Party. The member since 1996 has been Russell Turner (left), who narrowly survived a 13.8 per cent swing at a by-election held upon the resignation of Garry West. Labor's candidate on that occasion was Tim Sullivan, who scored 30.0 per cent as an independent in 1991. Another by-election on the same day saw the Nationals lose the seat of Clarence. Turner has remained on the back bench throughout his career, coming to the attention of the Sydney media on two occasions: in 2003, when he spoke of his son's homosexuality in becoming the only Nationals member to support gay age-of-consent reforms; and in March 2006, when the upper house passed a symbolic censure motion against him for urging the government to guarantee no more Aboriginal families would be moved to Orange from public housing in Dubbo and Bourke. He clarified his point on the latter occasion by saying the government was putting too much pressure on the existing Aboriginal community in Orange, but got more press for his complaint that some of the families being transferred were "known to the police". Labor's candidate is Cabonne shire councillor Kevin Duffy (right).

ASSESSMENT: Nationals retain