The new look seat of Hunter, thanks to a redistribution that halved the area covered by the seat, meant it lost Maitland and Kurri Kurri to Paterson electorate and the  towns north of Aberdeen including Scone and Murrurundi to New England.

In the redistribution it gained most of the urban areas on the western shore of Lake Macquarie formerly part Charlton.

Hunter still includes the towns of Cessnock, Singleton Muswellbrook and Branxton.

According to poll analysts Hunter has an estimated Labor margin of 5.7 per cent meaning sitting member Joel Fitzgibbon has a pretty good chance of being re-elected.

If so it will continue the tradition established, at Federation, that  Hunter is held by Labor. 

Candidates running for the seat of Hunter in 2016 are:

Ruth Rogers -The Nationals

Ruth Rogers has lived in Singleton for 30 years and during that time owned and operated a number of small businesses. A Singleton Councillor – a position she has held since a by-election in 2009.  

Rogers was a former Singleton Citizen of the Year and a founding member of a support service for military wives. She has been at the forefront to assist defence personnel and their families. Rogers is also keen to find the right solution for the removal of flying foxes from Singleton’s Burdekin Park.

John Harvey – Independent

Independent John Harvey eschews party politics saying “If you want a professional politician to represent you, then don’t vote for me.” Harvey, a Cessnock dentist and pub owner has worked as a strategist and adviser to conservative leaders including Andrew Peacock, Nick Greiner and Jeff Kennett.

He said the he would stand up and protect the region, protect jobs and fight to receive the services the Hunter deserves. Harvey stated he would fight for the creation of new permanent jobs to replace those that have been lost in the mining industry.

Joel Fitzgibbon – Australian Labor Party

Joel Fitzgibbon the sitting member (elected in 1996) is the son of the former member for Hunter Eric Fitzgibbon. Before entering parliament he worked as an  auto electrician and he served on Cessnock City Council 1987-95, including a term as Deputy Mayor.

In the first Rudd Labor government he held the position of Minister for Defence but later resigned. Fitzgibbon returned to the frontbench in 2013 becoming Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. He is currently Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Aray Martin – Independent

Arjay Martin grew up in the Hunter Valley, from Baerami/Sandy Hollow and Muswellbrook, to Satur and Wyee, Western Lake Macquarie and Newcastle.

The 32 years old, Martin works for Australia's largest private research company, Roy Morgan Research and has a wife from Finland and 2 children -aged 3 years and 4 months old.

A regular on the campaign trail, he has previously run in the state seat of Charlestown and federal seat of Charlton and was a Lake Macquarie mayoral candidate in 2012.

Martin is no fan of free trade deals and the sale of Australian property to overseas buyers unless we have reciprocal rights on those overseas countries.  

Peter Morris – The Greens

Greens candidate Peter Morris, a retired TAFE teacher is best known for his work in and around Lake Macquarie to protect its foreshore and surrounds from over-development.

Morris said his party has identified the potential for thousands of new jobs in this region in manufacturing, education, transport and health.

“Mining provides only 5 per cent of employment in the Hunter. Moving our workforce out of mining won’t hurt this region. If state and federal governments cooperated we could have a commitment to industries such as high-speed rail and we could build the rolling stock here,”he said.

“This region could and should play a vital role in developing renewable energy industries. If we stop paying out workforce to pump carbon into the atmosphere and find them new jobs in clean industries we can rightly hope for a better future.”

Richard Stretton – The Christian Democrats

Christian Democratic Party candidate Richard Stretton is an experienced campaigner – he first put his hand up in the 2013 federal election and also ran in the 2015 state election.

Stretton, a plant mechanic by trade, has worked locally in the coal mining, agricultural and construction industries for the past 20 years which gives him a unique insight into the region’s major economic drivers.

He has raised his family in Singleton and currently runs a mobile maintenance service in the area.

Joining the CDP in 2002 he is proud of the party’s record in the New South Wales Senate, their moral stance and policies that flow from this.

He is passionate about making breathing life back into the nation’s, and the Hunter’s, manufacturing sector.

John Warham – Independent

John Warham, a former Uniting Church minister and youth worker who now works as a teacher, said he wanted to see a better deal for regions, with more infrastructure spending and more emphasis on giving people skills to enter the workforce.

He feels it is time for a change as political representatives from major parties ultimately “toe the party line”.  Thus, their first allegiance is to the party not the region as it should be. The independent says he would like to see all Federal policies tested to see if they will work in regional areas.

The well-educated candidate has a degree in psychology, theology, masters in ancient history and speaks several languages.

Cordelia Troy – Independent

Cordelia Troy has served two terms on Cessnock Council and was a former member of the Liberal Party.

Troy said she has a great track record of speaking up for the community in her eight years on Cessnock Council, and that she hopes she can do the same for the Hunter electorate.

Both major parties paid little attention to the seat, she said.

The Hunter was the state’s playground, food basket and bank because it produced hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties, but it was not respected for its contribution, she said.