To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Unlock with Patreon
This is another seat where the Liberals appear to be no longer cutting through in anymore. It’s worth noting if the anti-Labor swing is more aggressive in the country then things could get interesting.
Central Ballarat, where the population is more tree-changer and urbanised than the rural areas in the federal electorate. Yeah nothing to see here. Labor hold easily unlike Eureka which will be a battleground.
I don’t know that the urban/suburban areas of Ballarat are really ‘tree-changers’ to any greater extent than the surrounding rural areas in the Federal electorate – Buninyong to the south and the Hepburn towns (Creswick, Clunes etc) to the north are very much tree-changer and somewhat hippie-ish in character, Daylesford even more so.
Ballarat core includes some quite low socio-economic suburbs but what I think really strengthens it for Labor is the amount of teachers and workers at the hospitals as well as the administrative public service workers based there or commuting in to Melbourne. You do then have more typically rural areas closer to Geelong and towards Beaufort that are probably more liable to a swing away from Labor but at the state level these distinct areas are all split from each other (Hepburn between Ripon/Bendigo West, Ballarat suburbs between Wendouree/Eureka) and thus I wouldn’t necessarily say any one of these seats is more liable to a big or small swing relative to each other.