New England by-election: Aiming to turn a safe seat into a marginal one

‘You don’t want to be a safe Nats seat,’ CountryMinded says | Profile - Northern Daily Leader
Good political outcomes are driven by political competition, Mr Mailler says.
“If you want your member to work hard for you, they need to know that if they don’t perform, the next election is not guaranteed,” he said.
“Neither side of government is particularly interested in what they can do for these ultra-safe seats. When weighing up where to use its resources, much more likely to throw them at securing a marginal seat than a safe seat.

“The Nationals can’t leverage a position if they hold the seat by more than about five per cent because it’s deemed to be safe.”
The job of CountryMinded is to give people a “progressive, conservative alternative”, and to erode the vote to turn safe seats in to marginal seats
Rob Taber campaigns in Tenterfield - Tenterfield Star
This is the third time Mr Taber has contested the federal seat of New England after securing 36 per cent of the votes last time around on a 2-candidate preferred basis.
Now a week out from the polls he’s confident of winning votes in Armidale due to his high profile there, but spent several hours in Tenterfield introducing himself to people in Rouse St in order to win a few more votes at the northern end of the electorate.
His chances may be boosted by receiving second preferences on Mr Joyce’s ticket, but vehemently denied any deal to swap preferences with the front-runner.
"I don't allocate preferences," Mr Taber said.
"I only say to vote 1 for me. I believe preferences belong to people not parties."
Barnaby Joyce declines to take Gina Rinehart’s money - The Inverell Times

Gina Rinehart's sway over agriculture policy questioned after Barnaby Joyce award - ABC

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