THE POLL BLUDGER
Victorian Legislative Assembly Election 2006

RIPON
Labor 7.4%

Ripon covers 12,000 square kilometres in Victoria's central west, from Stawell east to Maryborough and south through Ararat to Beaufort and Skipton. Labor trades off strong support in the larger towns of Ararat and Maryborough (Stawell normally leans to the conservatives, but voted Labor in 2002) against a general pattern of weakness in the myriad small rural booths. The electorate was created in 1945 and was a marginal seat until the 1955 Labor split, which ushered in 44 years of Liberal dominance. This ended when Steve Elder, Liberal member of 11 years, became a surprise casualty of the 1999 rural backlash against the Kennett government, suffering a 7.2 per cent swing. The successful Labor candidate was former motor mechanic Joe Helper (left), who picked up a further 5.9 per cent swing in 2002 and was subsequently promoted to parliamentary secretary for regional development. A member of the Right faction, he was recently named by Paul Austin of The Age as one of its likely candidates for further promotion. Opposing him at the coming election are Liberal candidate Victor Dunn (right), a Clunes policeman, and Nationals candidate Robyn Smith, a Northern Grampians shire councillor.

ASSESSMENT: Labor retain