THE POLL BLUDGER
Victorian Legislative Assembly Election 2006

OAKLEIGH
Labor 15.2%

The inner south-eastern suburban seat of Oakleigh has been hotly contested since its creation in 1927, having changed hands in 1932 (from Labor to conservative), 1937, 1947, 1950, 1961, 1979, 1992 and 1999. Former Whitlam government minister Race Mathews held the seat from 1979 and served as Police Minister in the Cain government's first term, before suffering an 8.5 per cent swing and defeat at the hands of Liberal candidate Denise McGill in 1992. A 2.8 per cent correction in 1996 brought McGill to within a handful of votes of defeat, with a further 3.4 per cent swing in 1999 delivering the coup de grace. Labor member Ann Barker (left) went on to consolidate her hold with a 12.3 per cent swing that was impressive even by the standards of the 2002 election, and she was subsequently prompted to parliamentary secretary for training and higher education. Barker is aligned with the National Union of Workers faction and backed the union's state secretary, Martin Pakula, in his preselection challenge against Simon Crean, who had himself once been general secretary of NUW predecessor the Storemen and Packers Union. This was despite Barker having worked for many years in Crean's electorate office. The Liberals have nominated Colin Dixon (right), a police officer.

The big ticket items in the Liberals' $1.7 billion health policy unveiled in the second week of the campaign included a $60 million expansion of the Clayton campus of the Monash Medical Centre, located just over the border in the safe Labor seat of Clayton.

ASSESSMENT: Labor retain