THE POLL BLUDGER
South Australian House of Assembly Election 2006

KAURNA
Labor 10.8%

Kaurna contains Adelaide's far southern coastal suburbs from Christies Beach south to Sellicks Beach, including Port Noarlunga and Seaford. Booth results are remarkably consistent throughout, barring a slightly lower Labor vote in the south and an unusually high Greens vote at Maslin Beach, of which you can make what you will. The industrial character of the area makes it naturally Labor territory, but not to the extent that it survived the wipeout at the 1993 election at which it was created. Liberal candidate Lorraine Rosenberg defeated Labor's John Hill (right) who instead became the party's state secretary, and impressed many with his work rate by simultaneously completing a law degree. Despite having been left without a factional base by the collapse of the Centre Left (he has remained unaligned ever since), Hill again won preselection for Kaurna at the 1997 election and brought it back into the Labor fold with an 8.2 per cent swing.

Hill moved straight to the front-bench with the environment portfolio and reportedly declined an approach to challenge for the leadership when discontent with Mike Rann developed in 2001. He secured Labor's hold on the seat at the 2002 election with a handsome 6.7 per cent swing, partly assisted by Rosenberg's attempt to win it back as an independent. The defeated Liberal candidate was Lauren Kenyon, 21-year-old daughter of Susan Jeanes, former federal MP for Kingston and unsuccessful candidate for Fisher. Hill maintained the environment portfolio in government, and soon had his hands full with federal government plans for a radioactive waste dump at Woomera. The federal government abandoned the proposal in mid-2004 after the Federal Court upheld a challenge against their right to compulsorily acquire the land.

In early 2003 Hill faced a privileges committee investigation into claims he lied to parliament over a departmental report recommending that the state agree to host a dump, which had been prepared for the previous government. He claimed he had not seen a briefing note regarding the matter when Labor came to office. The episode did him little harm and his temporary appointment to the health portfolio when Lea Stevens stood aside in November 2005 can be seen as a vote of confidence. Paul Starick of The Advertiser reckoned the selection of a factionally non-aligned cabinet member indicated that Mike Rann was keen to avoid a brawl between the Left and Right over who would assume Stevens' place in cabinet, which has remained vacant pending the election.

Liberal candidate Tim Flaherty (left) and Democrats candidate Graham Pratt are both on Onkaparinga City Council.

ASSESSMENT: Labor retain

An outstanding result for John Hill in a pleasant coastal area that looked nothing like a 22 per cent Labor electorate when I spent a weekend there during the campaign. Hill was up 15.0 per cent on the primary vote and 11.2 per cent on two-party preferred, gathering votes from the decline of the Liberals (down 6.6 per cent to 20.5 per cent), the hole left by Lorraine Rosenberg's 8.1 per cent in 2002 and the donkey vote.

OUTCOME: Labor retain (22.0%)