Labor's Aoife Champion has drawn top spot on the ballot paper for the upcoming federal election in Hume.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The ballot draw, conducted by returning officer Melissa Merryfull on Wednesday, also revealed new candidates in the contest for the seat, which the Liberals' Angus Taylor holds by a 10.2 per cent margin.
The Greens, Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party and the Christian Democrats Party (CDP) are also fielding nominees.
The order of candidates is:
- Aoife Champion - Labor Party
- Lynda Abdo - United Australia Party
- Tanya Hargraves - Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party
- Angus Taylor - Liberal Party
- David Powell - The Greens
- Huw Kingston - Independent
- Ian Nebauer - CDP
So far, only the Liberal, Labor, UAP and independent candidates were known. The Greens' early selection, Dr Saan Ecker, pulled out last month.
Ms Champion said the top position was "always a pleasant place to be."
"But I was also top of the ballot the last time (2016 federal election). I found that people who walked into the election booth had already recognised the names so I think at the end of the day it doesn't matter where you're placed."
Ms Champion has been campaigning at the Wollondilly and Camden parts of the electorate but has also spent time in Goulburn, more recently at the Parkside markets.
She said people had been talking to her about Labor's $2.3 billion cancer treatment plan, which would cover the Medicare gap on diagnostic scans.
"But if there's no MRI machine, as is the case in Goulburn, that's another issue and I'll be fighting for that," Ms Champion said.
Mobile phone reception in rural areas and climate change, as it related to drought, farming and economic development, were also rating highly in people's minds, she said.
Mr Taylor did not attend the ballot draw but in a statement released afterward said the election offered voters the "clearest choice in almost 50 years."
"It's not just a choice about who can manage the economy and return the Budget to surplus; it's a choice about Labor's climate policies, their housing policies, their tax policies," he said.
"We haven't seen a Labor Party like this in decades; they want higher taxes, higher spending, more control over our lives.
"The Goulburn region is growing, new businesses are starting up and we've got very low unemployment across Hume.
"I want to keep delivering and I want to keep fighting - for our farmers, our small businesses and our families."
Mr Taylor was not available for interview.
Meantime, Independent Huw Kingston was busy campaigning in Goulburn's main street earlier on Wednesday morning.
The Bundanoon man said people were talking about climate change, live animal export and the current controversy over the Murray Darling Basin water buy back scheme and Eastern Australia Agricultural's role.
"People want to know where the money went to in the Cayman Islands (where parent company Eastern Australia Irrigation is registered), " he said.
"They are also asking about the process whereby the government has apparently bought useless water for the environment."
Mr Kingston said he'd be spending a great deal of time in Goulburn and Camden, the largest centres in the electorate.
Ms Hargraves, who hails from Boorowa, says she's standing for Fraser Anning's Party because she believes the leader "puts people first."
The former graphic designer, marketer and publisher has been a volunteer for the federal Senator for the past 18 months.
Ms Hargraves cited the Banking Royal Commission as a hot issue among voters and said she had been a "victim" of the banks herself.
She and the party are calling for a not-for-profit sovereign bank in Australia to give people another option.
As for Senator Anning's recent comments about immigration and the Christchurch bombings, Ms Hargraves said the mainstream media had "blown the comments out of proportion."
The Greens' David Powell is a newcomer to the contest and lives in Silverdale in the Wollondilly Shire.
The UAP's Lynda Abdo is a Queenslander while Mr Nebauer is from Sorell, Tasmania.
The seat has 116,469 eligible voters, the Electoral Commission says.
Pre-polling opens on Monday, April 29 at Shop 2, 104 Clinton Street, Goulburn (next to the Pet Barn) and at The Undercroft, Camden Civic Centre, and runs up until election day.
The election will be held on Saturday, May 18.