THE POLL BLUDGER
South Australian House of Assembly Election 2006

MORPHETT
Liberal 10.4%

Electoral authorities are required to follow precise orders of guidelines in naming electorates, and South Australia's set seems to be particularly complicated. Somewhere within it lurks an answer to the mystery of why Morphett is not called Glenelg, the fashionable coastal hub that dominates it. A seat that bore the name of Glenelg existed until 1985, concurrently after 1977 with Morphett which was then based on Brighton to the south. Morphett was held for its first term by Labor's Terry Groom (later to return in Hartley), whose loss to Liberal candidate John Oswald was a crucial factor in David Tonkin's 1979 election victory. Labor ceased to be competitive when the electorate moved into territory vacated by the abolition of Glenelg in 1985. Oswald retired in 2002 and was succeeded by Duncan McFetridge (left), a former country school teacher and veterinary surgeon. McFetridge won quick promotion to the shadow consumer affairs and local government portfolios in April 2004, and by some accounts is already counting his numbers for future leadership contests. His Labor opponent is Tim Looker (right), who received a Medal in the Order of Australia for services to the community in 2003.

The ongoing Holdfast Shores development has dominated local politics for nearly a decade. The most recent episode related to the demolition of Magic Mountain, an Adelaide equivalent of Luna Park whose demise in 2004 provoked an outbreak of sentimentalism. This area has been pegged as open space in a grand design that evolved to include a nine-storey apartment complex opposite. Mayor Ken Rollond was elected on a platform of opposition to coastal high-rise in 2003, but his council was compelled to approve the apartments following advice that councillors and officers could personally face legal action if council's existing support was reversed. McFetridge also opposed the development, which is due to be completed later this year, but found little support for his suggestion that Glenelg be listed as a state heritage area. Some argued there was too little left to preserve.

ASSESSMENT: Liberal retain

This Duncan McFetridge must be a top bloke, because he came second only to Adelaide Crows legend Nigel Smart in the race for the coveted prize of least worst anti-Liberal swing in Adelaide. McFetridge suffered a 5.0 per cent two-party swing, the result of a fairly straightforward switch of primary votes from Liberal to Labor. After a clean sweep in 2002, McFetridge narrowly lost the Glenelg East and Warradale booths.

OUTCOME: Liberal retain (5.4%)