Baldwin Staying in Paterson

Despite having his majority wiped out in the recent electoral redistribution in the Hunter, Paterson MP Bob Baldwin has ruled out moving away from the seat he's held since 2001.

MP Bob Baldwin with former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott

A report in The Australian on Thursday morning suggested Baldwin was considering defecting from the Liberal party, and running as an Independent for the seat of Lyne, currently held by Nationals MP David Gillespie.

The move was rumored because most of Baldwin's Liberal voters in Port Stephens and Dungog have moved into Lyne, while he's picked up Maitland and Kurri Kurri, traditional Labor strongholds.

A Coalition agreement means Liberal voters cannot contest a seat held by a National.

Before the redistribution, Baldwin held a 9.8% margin on Paterson however, the seat has now become a swinger, with a 1.3% swing to Labor.

Despite all the rumors, Baldwin is adamant he will stay in Patterson, calling the rumors rubbish.

But Baldwin wasn't the only one who saw major changes, with Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon seeing his electorate carved out between Pat Conroy's Charlton (to be renamed Hunter) and Deputy Nationals Leader, Barnaby Joyce's New England.

Despite the push-out, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has confirmed Fitzgibbon is likely to remain in politics.

Image courtesy of Andrew Meares, via The Sydney Morning Herald (LINK).