Despite the re-drawing of electorate boundaries, Katrina Hodgkinson has won the new seat of Cootamundra with 66.1% of the primary vote, and 70.4% after preferences.
“To receive such a high vote in the electorate on Saturday is very humbling, and it tells me that people in our region want to continue to see positive action from the NSW Government,” said Member Elect for Cootamundra, Katrina Hodgkinson.
However, there was a 9.9% swing in the vote away from Hodgkinson, with Labor’s Charlie Sheahan receiving 26.2% of the primary vote and 29.6% after preferences. There was a 9.9% swing to Labor.
“I was pleased with our performance, we clawed back a lot of ground,” said Labor candidate, Charlie Sheahan. “Now I’ll be out there keeping them [the NSW government] to their promises.”
For Binalong residents, the Liberal Party’s Pru Goward has been elected to the seat of Goulburn with 56% of the vote, with Labor’s Ursula Stephens winning 44%. In that electorate, there was a 21.1% swing to Labor.
In the seat of Cootamundra, the Green’s Rod Therkelson received 1,353 votes, with Philip Langfield of the Christain Democrats 867, Elio Cacciotti of the No Land Tax Party receiving 903 votes.
In fourth place overall, informal votes (donkey votes) added up to 1,176 – a substantial amount considering that the Greens only received 177 more votes in this year’s election. This number is also more than what the Christian Democratic Party and the single-issue No Land Tax Party received. Donkey votes increased by 14.7% on the 2011 figure of 1,025. This trend is perhaps indicative of growing apathy towards politics within the electorate, or dissatisfaction with the selection of political parties and candidates. Donkey votes also made up 2.76% of the 42,606 votes cast in the entire electorate.
Hodgkinson first contested the seat of Southern Highlands in the 1995 election, where she received the highest number of primary votes. She was defeated by the former Liberal Premier, rugby League player and World Anti-Doping Authority President, John Fahey, on preferences.
Hodgkinson worked as an advisor to Liberal Senator Nick Minchin between 1997 and 1999, before she contested the 1999 election for the seat of Burrinjuck.
Katrina Hodgkinson first entered the NSW Legislative Assembly (lower house) in March, 1999, following the resignation of Alby Schultz, who successfully contested the Federal seat of Hume.
Between 2003 and 2011, she held various shadow portfolios, including Fair Trading and Small Business, Tourism, Major Events, Community Services, Families, and Child Safety, and Natural Resource Management.
Hodgkinson became Minister for Primary Industries and Minister for Small Business upon the ascension of the O’Farrell government in April 2011. After an April 2014 Cabinet reshuffle upon the resignation of Barry O’Farrell, Hodgkinson became Assistant Minister for Tourism and Major Events. She currently does not hold a portfolio, however, Premier Mike Baird is expected to announce his new cabinet in the coming days.
Pictured are Judy Windsor with Katrina Hodgkinson (Nationals Member for the seat of Cootamundra), Lucy Pettit and Rita O’Connor at the Murrumburrah Court House polling booth on Saturday morning.
