Legal eagles in Gordon Bradbery's corner

Two Illawarra legal eagles will donate their time to help independent Gordon Bradbery quash the Wollongong state election result.Barrister Jane Healey and Access Law Group's David Swan will work pro bono to assist Mr Bradbery, who yesterday filed a petition in the NSW Supreme Court seeking to have Labor MP Noreen Hay's narrow win overturned.It follows several unresolved incidents on polling day, including the discovery of 800 fraudulent Liberal how-to-vote cards, the placing of allegedly unauthorised posters and claims of people "double voting".Mr Swan, who was also part of Mr Bradbery's campaign team, said his firm wanted to see democracy served."We made inquiries of the Liberal Party and they are not prepared to take the matter further in the courts," he said."We think the whole integrity of the system needs to be challenged and it is in the interests of the community."Similarly, Ms Healey was driven by her "love of democracy". She voiced concern over a suspected high incidence of double voting which, coupled with the alleged unauthorised election material, could have cost Mr Bradbery victory."I am motivated not by partisan concerns, but more by the integrity of the democratic process which I feel appears to have been tainted in this case," she said. "Given the result was so close, there is a real possibility the irregularities led to an unfair result."Ms Hay won the seat by just 682 votes after suffering a devastating 24.3 per cent swing.Mr Bradbery's lawyers must prove that misconduct occurred and it affected the result. The matter is listed for directions on May 18.Meantime, a trust fund has been established to finance Mr Bradbery's legal challenge.The Uniting Church minister, who was accused of being backed by the city's high rollers during his campaign, could face hefty court costs if his legal bid fails."Part of my [campaign] platform was standing up for Wollongong," he said."Even if we don't win, at least all the innuendo associated with the election will be cleared away and we can say the outcome was transparent and honest, and whoever represents us does so with a clear mandate."Ms Hay has denied any wrongdoing and insists she was fairly elected.