Victorian State Election 2010: Pascoe Vale
Electorate: Pascoe Vale
Margin: Labor 22.8%
Upper house region: Western Metropolitan
Federal: Wills
Click here for Victorian Electoral Commission map
The candidates
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CAMPBELL, Christine
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Electorate analysis: Pascoe Vale is located in Melbourne’s inner north, from Coburg out to Hadfield and Oak Park. The seat was created in 1985 and has always been safe for Labor. It was held from 1988 to 1996 by Kelvin Thomson, who subsequently became the federal member for Wills, and thereafter by Christine Campbell. Campbell had worked as Thomson’s electorate officer and previously for the union that forms his power base, the Right faction Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association. She was immediately elevated to the front bench, holding the family services and women’s affairs portfolios until February 1999 and then community services. The latter portfolio was carried over into government, and ultimately brought her to grief when it emerged a youth refuge funded by her department was supervising teenagers while they sniffed paint as a harm minimisation strategy. She was consequently demoted to the aged portfolio, and dropped altogether after the 2002 election. Going into the current election she was challenged for preselection by immigration lawyer Joe Italiano, but he withdrew on the day of the Public Office Selection Committee vote after Campbell won the local party ballot 130 votes to 85.
Analysis written by William Bowe. Read William’s blog, The Poll Bludger.