Shellharbour has emerged as the new battle front in the fight for the federal seat of Gilmore, as candidates fervently hit the hustings at the electorate's crucial northern tip.
Armed with a card table and two folding chairs, sitting Liberal MP Joanna Gash was the latest to ramp up her Shellharbour campaign yesterday, setting up a makeshift office on a Barrack Heights street corner with deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop at her side.
Mrs Gash will open a new electorate office in Shellharbour today in a bid to further raise her profile.
Both Mrs Gash and Greens candidate Ben van der Wijngaart concede they have much ground to cover after a recent boundary change saw the seat inherit 18,000 left-leaning voters from Shellharbour, Barrack Heights and Albion Park, dispensing with 13,000 more conservative Eurobodalla constituents.
The move wiped out Mrs Gash's 4.3 per cent swing and left the seat notionally Labor with a 0.3 per cent margin.
Controversial ALP candidate David Boyle, a former Origin footballer who runs a Barrack Heights gym, is better known in the northern parts and stands to benefit from the boundary change.
While Mrs Gash's supporters reportedly penned scores of letters protesting the redistribution, the stalwart candidate says she has embraced her new constituents.
"I've been through all the new areas and I love the community, I love the people - I've been surprised by the warmth I've received here," she said.
Mrs Gash listed youth crime, unemployment and keeping families united as key issues of concern to her new electors.
Mr van der Wijngaart has also pledged to hit the northern campaign trail.
"No doubt the area previously hasn't had much contact with any candidate, except Labor's," he said.
"Certainly we'll be putting effort into the north and letting people know where the Greens stand on certain issues."
The ALP's David Boyle, whose rise to the candidacy after intervention by the ALP head office prompted outrage from the party's rank and file, said his strong ties to the Shellharbour region would stand him in good stead.
"Raising a family and running a small business in the area has certainly given me an understanding of the issues, however I don't take anything for granted," he said.
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