“It probably means that federally there is no way the Labor Party is going to hang off until the new year for an election,” he said.
“Kevin Rudd wouldn’t want to face the polls anywhere near when NSW goes to the election.”
NSW Premier Kristina Keneally says she is disappointed but not surprised by her party’s record defeat.
But Ms Keneally does not think the Penrith result will be replicated when the whole state goes to the polls in March.
“By-elections are very different creatures to general elections. By-elections are always fought within a specific context on a specific set of circumstances,” she said.
She has blamed anger at the former Labor member for Penrith, Karyn Paluzzano, for the party’s poor result.
“In this case the former member did not act with that integrity that the electorate expects and when I was out in the electorate I heard that over and over again,” she said.
“People were disappointed that the former member had acted without that integrity that is expected by elected representatives.”
Greens vote
The Greens more than doubled their vote in the by-election.
Greens candidate Suzie Wright received 12.6 per cent of the primary vote.
At the 2007 state election the Greens only got 5.5 per cent of the vote in Penrith.
Mr Green says the Labor Party should be concerned.
“Labor has even finished behind the Greens in a couple of booths in Penrith which indicates that at the general election it is not only the Coalition that Labor has to worry about,” he said.
“In some seats Labor is really going to struggle to stay ahead of the Greens and defeat the Greens in seats like Marrickville and Balmain.”
Greens MP Lee Rhiannon says the Greens are hoping for a Lower House breakthrough in the federal election.
“Our numbers people assess that Balmain is the seat where we have the best chance, with Marrickville not far behind,” she said.
“But we’re aware that it’s very tough coming forward and being able to win a lower house seat in an election where there’s no proportional representation, so we’ll give it everything we’ve got.”
Meawhile, Ms Wright is angry a non-Greens pamphlet was handed out at polling booths yesterday telling people to vote for her first, then Labor second.
The material was authorised by a Labor councillor who also authorised the ALP’s how-to-vote cards.
Ms Wright says Labor did not ask for permission to use her name on the pamphlet and she is writing to the Electoral Commission about to matter.
“I would have liked to be consulted because I think it is a Green grab. They are trying to get the Greens preferences without actually talking about it to anybody,” she said.
Hero’s welcome
Stuart Ayres, 29, was given a hero’s welcome at a victory party last night after he was voted in.
He says it is a privilege to be chosen to represent the people of Penrith.
“I will make sure that I will dedicate every waking moment to making sure Penrith gets everything it deserves and making sure it stays on the map for the right reasons,” he said.
“For someone who loves this city so much to be able to represent it in parliament is a huge privilege and I thank the people of Penrith for giving me that.”
Labor’s candidate John Thain says he will run again at the March general election.
“I always knew that it would be difficult but I am determined that I am still going to serve the people of Penrith and I’m ready to have another crack in 10 months,” he said.
NSW Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell told Liberal supporters in Penrith it is the first time the party has won a western Sydney seat in two decades.
“So what we have seen tonight is Penrith and the lower Blue Mountains change itself,” he said.
“Vote for politics that is about honesty and integrity, vote for politics that’s about focussing on the issues and getting results. Vote for new politics, not the old politics of Labor.”
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Paul Colinvaux, 1980. The Fates of Nations: A Biological Theory of History.
Colinvaux explains the associations between human population growth, warfare, and human suffering due to diminished economic opportunity.
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