When your name appears on a ballot slip for the first time as an Independent, it doesn’t hurt to have already achieved a modicum of celebrity status.
Radio types James Mathison (Nova) Jim Ball (2UE, 2GB) and Aaron Wright (2UE, 2GB, KOFM, Mix 106.5, Hope 103.2) have made creditable showings in their first up bid for election to parliament.
Long time 3AW talk presenter Derryn Hinch has gone one better, securing a Senate seat as an independent alongside Pauline Hanson, Jacquie Lambie and Fred Nile making for very strange bedfellows indeed.
It was the first time Hinch had voted in an election, he’s long campaigned against compulsory voting in Australia.
And just for the record he voted for himself.
James Mathison who was intent on disrupting former Prime Minister Tony Abbott in his seat of Warringah has managed to snare 8,409 votes with about 74% of votes counted. That puts him less than 200 votes behind the Greens and about 2,000 behind the Labor candidate.
Despite a 9.05% swing against him, Mr Abbott has comfortably retained the seat with 37,273 votes, so far.
Mathison was helped out on polling day by his Australian Idol co-host Osher Gunsberg – now on Triple M Brisbane’s Breakfast team. Apart form wearing his candidate’s T-Shirt, Gunsberg had a shot at heckling Abbott by asking him “Are you worried about James?”
Seemingly unaware of exactly who was asking the question or that James was running against him, Mr Abbott replied, “I worry about all my constituents.”
Osher Gunsberg and James Mathison on polling day. Photo: Twitter
In the adjoining seat of Mackellar, vacated by Bronwyn Bishop, conservative candidate Jim Ball, who enjoyed glowing endorsements from Alan Jones polled 6,103 with 77% of votes counted.
Like Mathison, Ball came in fourth place. He had almost triple the support of the last placed candidate representing Fred Nile’s Christian Democrats but he polled a long way behind Liberal, Labor and The Greens. The seat has been retained by the coalition despite an 11.42% swing against it.
Meanwhile, over in Greenway in Sydney’s west, Aaron Wright, currently a programming and fundraising consultant, as well as an announcer at Pulse 94.1, did much better for the Christian Democrats. He came in third beating even the Greens with his 3,943 votes, so far. Labor, retained the seat with an increased majority after a 5.65% swing against the Liberals.
There was another successful candidate in the election.
Meryl Swanson, formerly midday presenter on 2HD, won the Lower House seat of Paterson for the ALP from a sitting Coalition member.