Labor's Fiona Phillips is fighting to hold Gilmore against a renewed challenge from Liberal Andrew Constance. With a well-backed Independent also in the race, preferences could once again decide the outcome. Attention will turn to shifting voter sentiment and whether preferences will tip the balance in one of the country's most marginal seats.
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00:00In 2022, Fiona Phillips retained the seat of Gilmore for the Labor Party by 373 votes.
00:08When Parliament sat for the first time, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese triumphantly welcomed
00:13her to the Labor caucus room, saying they could no longer call her Fiona, but lucky
00:17number 77 after she helped secure the party's narrow majority in the lower house.
00:23Fast forward to 2025, and it's round two for Fiona Phillips and her challenger, former
00:29New South Wales Liberal Minister, Andrew Constance.
00:33Fiona Phillips is banking on her credentials and Labor's delivery of services, in particular health.
00:39I know people are doing it tough and that's why I'm out there fighting for them, providing
00:44cost of living relief, really doing what we can in terms of providing more bulk build,
00:51you know, GP services.
00:53Andrew Constance says this campaign is about cost of living and chose to launch his campaign
01:00at a local charity service in Bomberderry.
01:03One of the reasons we're supporting a fuel excise impact is because we know it helps everybody
01:10and that's what we need right now, not in 15 months.
01:14And that's where I think the Labor Party made a big misstep, to offer a tax cut in 15 months.
01:18Fiona Phillips only secured the election on preferences, and while there is a green candidate
01:23in this campaign, there's a new disruptor.
01:27The Simon Holmes, a court-backed community independent project, has selected Bury businesswoman
01:32Kate Di Zarno as their candidate in this seat.
01:35She believes there's still a seat being taken for granted, and she sees the rise of independence
01:40in the Parliament as an opportunity for change.