Polls are not votes, but if they present an accurate indication, Swan and Tangney are looming as two key seats in the upcoming federal election.
Both the Labor party and the ALP are in full campaign mode despite the fact an election has yet to be called, and the seats of Tangney and Swan will be a key focus of both parties.
A recent poll showed that Tangney, which was won at the last election by sitting Liberal MP Ben Morton with a margin of 9.5 per cent, is currently dead-even, with Morton and Labor hopeful Sam Lim sitting on 41 per cent.
Swan is a recognised marginal seat, and with long-time Swan member, the ALP’s Steve Irons retiring, Kristy McSweeney, a former Sky News journalist, is contesting against Labor’s Zaneta Mascarenhas.
On a two-party preferred basis, Labor is currently 14 percentage points ahead of the Liberal party in Swan.
Mr Morton, however, is not concerned with the polls.
“I don’t focus on polling, I just do my job,” he said.
“I’ll be seeking re-election on my record of delivery for my community of Tangney, including expanding the Willetton Basketball Stadium, funding the Rostrata Family Centre upgrade project, securing planning funding to upgrade the Nicholson Road Garden Street intersection, and building WA’s very first Indian Community Centre in Willetton.
“Tangney is my home and where Asta and I have chosen to raise our family.
“That’s a statement of fact that can’t be matched by my Labor opponent.
“I’m committed to my community’s future.”
Mr Morton’s opponent, Sam Lim, expressed a similar disinterest in polling numbers.
“I’m not really interested in polling,” he said.
“My focus is on working hard, meeting locals and understanding the needs of the community.
“A lot of people that I speak to when I knock on their door feel like they have been taken for granted, and really appreciate someone making the effort to connect with them, one-on-one.”
