SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ELECTION 2010

FLOREY Labor 12.0%
Region: North-Eastern Suburbs Federal divisions: Makin/Sturt
	DENES MARANTOS Save RAH ANDREW GRAHAM Family First FRANCES BEDFORD Labor (top) CRAIG J McKAY Greens PAT TRAINOR Liberal (bottom)
Electoral District Boundaries Commission map

Florey is a suburban electorate located north-east of the city and dominated by the suburb of Modbury. It was created in 1970 and has only ever been won by the Liberals at the 1993 landslide, when Sam Bass ousted Labor's Bob Gregory. Bass was dumped by a 12.3 per cent swing in 1997 after a lively contest that led to him being awarded $100,000 in defamation damages from two Labor campaigners, which was eventually overturned by the High Court. Incoming Labor member Frances Bedford achieved fairly typical results at the 2002 and 2006 elections, moving the seat from marginal to safe territory with respective swings of 0.9 per cent and 8.5 per cent. The redistribution has shaved 0.2 per cent from her margin by adding parts of Redwood Park and Ridgehaven in the electorate's north-west.

Frances Bedford came to parliament through what was then known as the Duncan Left faction, so named after leading figure Peter Duncan, a Dunstan government Attorney-General and later a minister in the Hawke/Keating government. Distinct from that dominated by former Senator Nick Bolkus, this grouping of Left elements reasserted itself as the Progressive Labor Alliance after Duncan fled to Indonesia in 2002 to escape creditors. The often fluid nature of factional alignments was illustrated in 2004 when Bedford nominated for preselection in Duncan's old federal seat of Makin, in opposition to factional colleague Dana Wortley. Rebecca DiGirolamo of The Australian reported Bedford's run was a “tactical move” to influence the outcome in favour of the eventual victor, Salisbury mayor Tony Zappia. Ironically, Zappia failed to dislodge Liberal MP Trish Draper at the election while Wortley's consolation prize of number three on the Senate ticket proved a surprise winner, although Zappia would go on to win Makin on his second attempt in 2007.

Bedford made good on her Left credentials in her first term by successfully introducing a bill to extend superannuation benefits to same-sex couples, and reportedly threatened to follow Kris Hanna's example in quitting the Labor Party in protest against the government's tough law-and-order policies. More recently, she raised concerns in parliament about the government's contentious WorkCover reforms in April 2008, and was thanked by David Hicks in his statement after being released from Yatala prison in December 2007. She has thus far remained on the back bench.

In mid-2007, the Liberals targeted Bedford and other local MPs with a glossy brochure accusing them of being “missing” over service cuts at Modbury Hospital, which is located within the electorate. Greg Kelton of The Advertiser reported this was “part of the new aggressive approach of the party under new leader Martin Hamilton-Smith”. The hospital has lost obstetric and pediatric services and had pathology and radiology services downgraded, while taking on more elective surgery and palliative care. At around the same time, the government fulfilled a 2006 election promise by bringing the hospital back under public ownership 12 years after it was sold to private operator Healthscope by Dean Brown's Liberal government. In August 2009, the Liberals promised to add an intensive care unit and open a low-risk birthing unit.

At the Liberal campaign launch a fortnight before polling day, Isobel Redmond promised $47 million out of a claimed $1 billion in savings from rebuilding the Royal Adelaide Hospital on site would be used to return obstetrics services to Modbury Hospital. Redmond also promised upgrades to the hospital’s paediatrics, intensive care and emergency departments. Labor responded by promising a $44 million upgrade including a new emergency department at the hospital.

PREDICTION: Labor retain