NATIONALS candidate Rob Drew will face a strong challenge to retain the seat of Lyne for the party, with independent Rob Oakeshott running against the former Port Macquarie mayor.
Mr Oakeshott, a popular independent MP in State Parliament, will announce today he will resign from his safe seat of Port Macquarie to run for the federal seat of Lyne at the September 6 by-election.
The safe Nationals seat, vacated by former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Mark Vaile last week, has been held by the party since it was created in 1949.
Mr Drew was selected by the Nationals as their candidate at a party meeting in Laurieton at the weekend, beating Taree solicitor Quentin Schneider for pre-selection, 48 votes to 15.
Mr Drew was mayor of Port Macquarie-Hastings Shire before the council was sacked in February over its handling of the Glasshouse development.
The cost of the cultural centre development blew out from about $6 million in 2002, to almost $42 million.
James Langley, who stood as the Labor candidate for Lyne in last year’s federal election, resigned from the ALP at the weekend after the party decided on Friday not to stand a candidate in the by-election.
“I am saddened that the ALP has decided to remove from the people of Lyne the right to vote Labor,” Mr Langley said following his resignation.
“Labor has contested Lyne for as long as anyone can recall.
“When Labor refuses to contest a seat they are removing competitive tension from the debate of issues in that seat. Our democracy suffers.
“This coming on top of the State electricity privatisation tells the grassroots of Lyne that they are not wanted.”
The Liberal Party has not announced whether it will stand a candidate, but they have been openly urged not to stand by their coalition partner the Nationals.
The ALP and the Liberals have contested the seat on the last two occasions when the sitting Nationals MP has retired.
In 1980 and 1993 the ALP topped the primary vote, while the Liberals and the Nationals split the remainder of voters.
When Mr Vaile was elected in 1993, the Nationals scraped in ahead of the Liberals by two votes.
While Labor had topped the poll, Mr Vaile then easily won the seat with Liberal preferences.
The only other confirmed candidate aside from Mr Oakeshott and Mr Drew is Greens candidate Susie Russell, who yesterday visited a solar powered house near Wauchope with State Greens MP John Kaye.
“A stronger Greens presence in Canberra will mean that innovative Australian technology will get more support politically,” Ms Russell said.
Lyne takes in the southern edge of the Macleay Valley. East and South Kempsey used to be in Lyne but a after redistribution before last year’s election all of Kempsey become part of the Cowper electorate.
The electoral boundary between Cowper and Lyne follows the Macleay River downstream to Dungay Creek.
The boundary then follows Gowings Hill Rd, then Pipers Creek Rd and part of the border of Maria River State Forest. East of the Pacific Hwy the boundary follows Searle Rd.
Residents on its southern side are in the Lyne electorate, which includes Crescent Head.
Nominations for candidates in the September 6 by-election close next week on Thursday, August 14.