Evelyn Liberal MP Christine Fyffe with local residents Cassandra Coignet and Ramak Knibbs at Mount Evelyn.
By Russell Bennett
EVELYN Liberal MP Christine Fyffe has retained her seat on the back of a massive swing to the coalition.
Ms Fyffe had held Evelyn on a 2.8 per cent margin, but after the weekend’s polls that number had skyrocketed to 12.5 per cent.
“People were just very unhappy with the (Brumby government’s) increase in power and water bills and other charges,” Ms Fyffe said.
“The dirt unit used by the Labor Party against Mr Baillieu also backfired in a huge way.
“People weren’t happy with the way he was attacked and they showed it at the polls.”
Ms Fyffe, who won a massive 62.6 per cent of the two-party preferred vote, said she was “absolutely delighted” with the result.
“Now, I’m just looking forward to the next four years and honouring all of the commitments I’ve made locally,” she said.
Ms Fyffe said one of her main focuses during her next term would be providing better mental health services for Hills residents.
“I’ll also fight for improvements to local public transport – both the safety and availability of services.”
Ms Fyffe commended her Evelyn opponent Peter Harris, saying he was a “nice and decent man who ran a very clean campaign.”
Mr Harris returned the compliment, saying: “her (Ms Fyffe’s) campaign was a fair one.
“She made a lot of promises and hopefully the community benefits from them,” Mr Harris said.
Mr Harris said the result was a “pretty disappointing one” and acknowledged the uphill battle he was facing from the outset. “It’s a traditional Liberal seat and I guess this result has just confirmed that,” he said.
“But I’m proud of the campaign we ran. We didn’t have a huge team behind us or much money, but we definitely kept our opponents honest.”
Mr Harris said his political future was uncertain but added: “I’ll remain a proud and passionate member of the Labor Party.”
“Whether I’m chosen to run again in the future is up to the party, but I’m certainly not ruling it out.”
