THE POLL BLUDGER
Victorian Legislative Assembly Election 2006

NEPEAN
Liberal 0.2%

Nepean covers the southern tip of the Mornington Peninsula, from Portsea at the mouth of Port Phillip Bay to Point Leo on the Victorian south coast and Safety Beach on the bay. It was created at the 2002 election in place of Dromana, which from its creation in 1967 was only ever won by Labor at the 1982 election that brought John Cain's government to power. Labor candidate Carole Ford came within 78 votes of matching the feat following a 6.2 per cent swing in 2002, but sitting member Martin Dixon (left) narrowly survived. Dixon was first elected in 1996 and has steadily climbed the stunted Liberal tree in opposition, reaching the position of Shadow Education Minister in February this year. Labor's candidate is Anne Marshall (right), an electorate officer to upper house MP Bob Smith.

A Commonwealth Defence Department plan to divest itself of a military estate at Point Nepean has been the subject of an ongoing local controversy. A federal government review recommended that 90 hectares be sold to developers and the rest to the Victorian government as public land. However, the Victorian government refused to pay on the grounds they should have been given it for free, much to the displeasure of locals. When the federal government reacted by threatening to put the whole site on the market, the Victorian government said it would withhold planning permission for any developments that might result. Another issue has been the Port Phillip Bay dredging project, which has incurred the ire of conservation, tourism, fishing and residents groups. The project has been opposed by both Martin Dixon and Greg Hunt, the Liberal member for the corresponding federal seat of Flinders, putting them at odds with their party colleagues.

ASSESSMENT: Liberal retain