Victorian State Election 2010: Gippsland South
Electorate: Gippsland South
Margin: Nationals 15.8%
Upper house region: Eastern Victoria
Federal: Gippsland/McMillan
Click here for Victorian Electoral Commission map
The candidates
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RYAN, Peter
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Electorate analysis: Gippsland South includes Wilsons Promontory and the Corner Inlet along with further coastal territory for about 50 kilometres to the west (as far as Venus Bay) and more than 100 kilometres to the east (as far as Lake Victoria), and extends inland to Leongatha and Nyora in the west and Sale in the east. It has existed without interruption since 1859 and has never been held by Labor. Sir Herbert Hyland held the seat from 1929 until his death in 1970; it subsequently fell to Liberal candidate James Taylor, who was in turn defeated in 1973 and would later return as a member for the local upper house province. Neil McInnes then held the seat for the National/Country Party until 1980 when he defected to the Liberals; he was rewarded for his efforts with defeat at the 1982 election, and the seat has been in Nationals hands ever since. Peter Ryan succeeded Tom Wallace as member in 1992, and succeeded Pat McNamara as party leader following the 1999 election defeat despite a lack of ministerial experience. He was made Shadow Minister for Regional and Rural Development, Manufacturing, Exports and Trade when the coalition agreement was reached in February 2008, further taking on bushfire response when it was created in the wake of the bushfire disaster of February 2009.
Analysis written by William Bowe. Read William’s blog, The Poll Bludger.