THE POLL BLUDGER
Victorian Legislative Assembly Election 2006

BENTLEIGH
Labor 4.8%

Bentleigh is located in Melbourne's southern suburbs immediately to the east of Nepean Highway. It was created in 1967 and has changed hands from Liberal to Labor in 1979, to Liberal in 1992 and back again in 2002, when Labor's Rob Hudson (left) defeated sitting member Inga Peulich with a 6.8 per cent swing. Hudson had previously been head of the Victorian Council of Social Service and social policy adviser to Steve Bracks. In December 2001 Gabrielle Costa and Ewin Hannan of The Age reported that Hudson, though himself of the Socialist Left, secured preselection after winning the support of the Right. It was also reported that he would be endorsed by the party's central panel "regardless of the outcome of a vote by local branch members over the weekend", although he in fact won 58 per cent of the vote against rival Rachel Powning. His Liberal opponent is James Gobbo (right), son of the former Governor of the same name who was contentiously cast aside by the Bracks government in favour of John Landy in 2001. Gobbo the younger "works in logistics for a large national firm and has extensive career experience in the transport and freight industries".

ASSESSMENT: Labor retain