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IT’S official – Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson and Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall have been re-elected to the NSW Parliament.
Formal confirmation of the incumbents’ comfortable victories came yesterday with the “declaration of the poll” in their electorates.
Returning officers in Tamworth and Armidale finally consigned the March 28 election to history by conducting a final check of the counts.
The formalities came after the local electorates of Barwon and Lismore had been declared in favour of fellow Nationals incumbents Kevin Humphries and George Thomas.
Mr Anderson, who will serve his second four-year term in the Legislative Assembly, received 26,990 first-preference votes, compared to 17,477 in 2011.
The increase in support saw him secure 60 per cent of the vote on a two-candidate preferred basis to defeat independent rival Peter Draper.
Mr Marshall will now serve his first full four-year term, after winning his seat at a by-election in May 2013 following the resignation of independent Richard Torbay.
The 30-year-old received a 3.4 per cent swing in his favour to poll 66.7 per cent of the primary vote and more than 77 per cent after the distribution of preferences.
“I am incredibly grateful and honoured to be re-elected to represent the people of the Northern Tablelands in the NSW Parliament,” he said.
“We’ve made some enormous inroads and gained great momentum on projects which I’m now looking forward to continuing.
“I’m also eager to work closely with the new communities of the Moree Plains Shire and will be spending a lot of time out west further familiarising myself with people and their issues.”
Mr Marshall said ensuring the Coalition government delivered on its $90 million funding commitments for the Armidale and Inverell hospitals was his top priority.
He said progressing the proposals to upgrade the Moree and Glen Innes district hospitals was also firmly on his agenda.
“There are and will be many other issues and projects that I will be advocating for, and I’ll continue to speak up and speak out on behalf of people in the region and our needs,” he said.
