IT’S a battlefield out there in the electorate of Euroa — sort of.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Voters in the new seat could think The Nationals’ Steph Ryan and the Liberals’ Tony Schneider were hitting the campaign trail together, with the pair appearing at several of the same events recently.
Euroa — made up of almost all of the old Benalla seat of retiring National MP Bill Sykes, and extending past Seymour — is seen as one of the more interesting electorates ahead of next month’s state election, despite the Nationals now having a margin of 13.6 per cent.
The Liberals’ decision to run a candidate against Ms Ryan caused tension in the Coalition — seen by some as disregard for the parties’ agreement which prevents them running against each other when there is a vacancy in a safe seat.
The decision earned the wrath of deputy Premier and Nationals leader Peter Ryan.
But since, Ms Ryan and Mr Schneider have popped up at several of the same events — one with Mr Ryan at Heathcote on natural gas, another with Water Minister Peter Walsh at Central Goulburn canal and a third with Health Minister David Davis at a funding announcement at Benalla and Euroa Health.
Ms Ryan yesterday said: “He (Mr Schneider) is running his campaign and I’m running mine”.
“If there’s ministerial events we’re both invited so we do bump into each other a bit.
“Any images of us together are just a function of those visits.”
While the campaign has looked friendly, Ms Ryan stopped short of describing it as such.
“There are things within my control and things that are not,” she said. “The Liberals have decided to run and that is what it is.
“I’m running to win. I’m doing everything I can to show people what the Nationals stand for.
“It’s really important for this seat to have someone solely focused on the interests of rural and regional Victoria.”
Mr Schneider has not returned calls this week.
Ms Ryan has the support of her former employer, former premier Ted Baillieu, who told ABC last month: “There’s no doubt she’s an excellent candidate. If I lived in Euroa and she was my local member I’d be delighted.”
Ms Ryan said she was happy with her campaign’s, and would push for further money for Benalla’s P-12 school and upgraded engines on the Albury-Seymour V/Line service.
