There are a lot of new names to get used to at this year’s State Election on Saturday, March 25th in the Hills and Hawkesbury region.
Two long-standing MPs have retired (David Elliott and Kevin Conolly) and not only are there new candidates to get to know but there are also newly named electorates and significant boundary changes which have seen hundreds of people move to a new seat without moving home.
The electoral boundaries were redrawn In August 2021, to ensure the number of eligible voters in each district doesn’t vary by more than 10 per cent from the average enrolment across all 93 electoral districts in NSW.
The new Castle Hill electorate is bounded by the M2, Windsor Road, Old Northern Rd and Castle Hill Rd, O’Haras and Cattai Creeks. It includes West Pennant Hills, Castle Hill, parts of Baulkham Hills, Annangrove, Kenthurst, Glenhaven, Dural and Middle Dural.
Baulkham Hills has been redrawn and renamed Kellyville. The new Kellyville Electorate takes in the suburbs of Kellyville, North Kellyville, Rouse Hill, Beaumont Hills, Norwest, Bella Vista and part of Baulkham Hills and Castle Hill. It is bounded by Old Windsor Rd, Toongabbie Creek, Windsor Rd and Cattai and Caddies Creek.
Former Castle Hill MP Ray Williams is now contesting the new Kellyville seat for the Liberals against Labor’s Alex Karki and The Greens Thelma Ghayyem, Animal Justice Party’s Ingrid Akkari and Heather Boyd from Sustainable Australia- Stop Overdevelopment/Corruption (SAP).
Hills Deputy Mayor Mark Hodges will be standing for the Liberals in the redrawn seat of Castle Hill, facing local businesswoman Tina Cartwright standing for Labor, The Greens candidate Tina Kordrostan, Independent Nathan Organ, Sustainable Australia- Stop Overdevelopment/Corruption’s Eric Claus and Liberal Democrat My Trinh.
A large number of candidates will make for a big ballot paper for the State seat of Hawkesbury where there are eight candidates. Sitting Member Robyn Preston will be re-contesting the seat for the Liberal Party and faces Labor Candidate and Hawkesbury councillor Amanda Kotlash, businesswoman and Independent Angela Maguire, Hawkesbury councillor Eddie Dogramaci standing for the Small Business Party and Hawkesbury councillor Danielle Wheeler standing for The Greens, Elissa Carey is standing for Sustainable Australia- Stop Overdevelopment/Corruption, Susane Popovki for One Nation. Tony Pettitt who was a One Nation candidate in the Federal election is standing as an Independent.
To add to the name changes, the former State seat of Seven Hills has been renamed Winston Hills and includes the suburbs of Glenwood, Baulkham Hills, Seven Hills, Winston Hills, Toongabbie, Constitution Hill, Northmead, Pennant Hills and Wentworthville.
Mark Taylor, who was the MP for Seven Hills, will be standing for the Liberal Party for the seat. His opponents include Deputy Lord Mayor of Parramatta Sameer Pandey standing for the Labor Party, The Greens candidate is Damien Atkins and Sustainable Australia- Stop Overdevelopment/ Corruption candidate is Anthony Chadszinow.
With the retirement of veteran Liberal politician Kevin Conolly as MP for Riverstone there will be some new faces on boards around the electorate. Labor’s candidate businessman Warren Kirby is up against the Liberal’s Mohit Kumar, Independent Tabitha Ponnambalam, The Greens Rob Vail, Anthony Belcastro from Shooters, Fishers and Farmers and Tim Horan from Sustainable Australia- Stop Overdevelopment/Corruption.
The draw on Thursday morning placed the candidates in the order they will appear on the voting papers. See below a full list of candidates and where they are placed.
CASTLE HILL:
• LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: My Trinh
• INDEPENDENT: Nathan Organ
• LABOR: Tina Cartwright
• SUSTAINABLE AUSTRALIA – Stop Overdevelopment/Corruption: Eric Claus
• THE GREENS: Tina Kordrostani
• LIBERAL: Mark Hodges
HAWKESBURY:
• ONE NATION: Susane Popovski
• INDEPENDENT: Angela Maguire
• THE SMALL BUSINESS PARTY: Eddie Dogramaci
• LABOR: Amanda Kotlash
• THE GREENS: Danielle Wheeler
• SUSTAINABLE AUSTRALIA – Stop Overdevelopment/Corruption: Elissa Carey
• LIBERAL: Robyn Preston
• INDEPENDENT: Tony Pettitt
KELLYVILLE:
• THE GREENS: Thelma Ghayyem
• LIBERAL: Ray Williams:
• LABOR: Alex Karki:
• ANIMAL JUSTICE PARTY: Ingrid Akkar
• SUSTAINABLE AUSTRALIA – Stop Overdevelopment/Corruption: Heather Boyd
RIVERSTONE:
• THE GREENS: Rob Vail
• SHOOTERS, FISHERS AND FARMERS: Anthony Belcastro
• SUSTAINABLE AUSTRALIA – Stop Overdevelopment/Corruption: Tim Horan
• LIBERAL: Mohit Kumar
• INDEPENDENT: Tabitha Ponnambalam
• LABOR: Warren Kirby
WINSTON HILLS
• LIBERAL: Mark Taylor
• SUSTAINABLE AUSTRALIA – Stop
Overdevelopment/Corruption: Anthony Chadszinow
• LABOR: Sameer Pandey
• THE GREENS: Damien Atkins
