It’s indicative of the Coalition’s desire to flip the seat, which Labor’s Jerome Laxale secured by just 1,954 votes in 2022.
Long-time Liberal voters divided
“I changed, I don’t vote Liberal anymore,” he told SBS News in Eastwood.
Because Peter Dutton, I don’t trust him, the way he talks. ‘Oh, I do this, I do that’. Yeah? Back it up mate.
Jason in Bennelong finds Opposition leader Peter Dutton too divisive. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop
Another Bennelong resident, Jason, was concerned about the cost of living and his mind was even more made up.
“I think both are just as bad as one another, so I’ve got to vote for the lesser evil.”
Bennelong ‘could go either way’
“Certainly the seat could go either way,” he told SBS News.
“Too much debt, we’re running up too much debt. I think the Liberals will address that, they always have,” Mark said.
Liberal candidate Scott Yung hands out how to vote cards in North Ryde, part of the hotly contested seat of Bennelong. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts
Sharon, who has also always voted Liberal, said she is still making up her mind.
“I’ll probably still vote Liberal because they tend to be more conservative and better with the budget,” Sharon said.
Candidates dismiss controversy during tight race
The contest for Bennelong has not been without controversy, with Yung appearing to distance himself from the Liberal Party during the final week of campaigning.
It comes amid reports that Yung recently criticised Dutton at a local polling booth, which the candidate has denied.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese helped hand out how-to-vote cards with Jerome Laxale in the final week in a bid to boost support for Labor in the marginal seat of Bennelong. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
Yung has also been forced to defend his campaign costs after celebrity endorsements during his 2019 state election run cast doubt over whether he had broken guidelines around disclosing free campaign advertising.
