Although Sam Groth is absent from the booths today, many of his former Liberal colleagues have made the trip to Nepean to support their candidate, Anthony Marsh.
Among them are party leader Jess Wilson, deputy David Southwick, opposition education spokesperson Brad Rowswell and MP Moira Deeming, who last month gained preselection as the party’s lead candidate for the Western Metropolitan Region in the upper house. The group recently took a “family photo” outside the Rosebud Sea Scouts Hall.
Former opposition leader Brad Battin (left), Opposition Leader Jess Wilson and Liberal candidate Anthony Marsh.Wayne Taylor
Wilson said her party was not taking the seat, which has been occupied by the Liberals for 36 of the past 40 years, for granted.
“That’s why Anthony’s been down here for weeks on end, and I’ve been with him knocking on doors,” she said. “We’ve been out listening to the community, and we’ve put forward a really positive plan for the electorate.”
Wilson said voters felt neglected by Labor and that this was evidenced by the party’s decision to not stand a candidate.
“That just shows how much they don’t care about the people on the peninsula,” she said. “But me, as a future premier of Victoria, I will make sure that they get the investment down here that they deserve.”