Electoral district of Murray-Wellington

Murray-Wellington Western Australia—Legislative Assembly
State	Western Australia
Dates current	1890–present^1
MP	Murray Cowper
Party	Liberal
Namesake	Murray River; Wellington Land District
Area	4,244 km^2 (1,638.6 sq mi)
Demographic	South West
Footnotes

Murray-Wellington is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia. The seat's current member is Liberal MP Murray Cowper.

Originally known as Murray, it was one of the original 30 seats contested at the 1890 election. The district is a regional electorate situated between Mandurah and Bunbury. The seat has alternated between the names Murray and Murray-Wellington to reflect its geography.

The seat has been a traditional stronghold for the Liberal Party, having been won only once by the Labor Party.

Geography

In its present configuration, Murray-Wellington is a coastal electorate running from the eastern outskirts of Mandurah to the northern outskirts of Bunbury. It covers three local government areas – Shire of Murray, Shire of Waroona and the Shire of Harvey – including all of the latter two and the vast geographic majority of the former. Its major population centres include the towns of Dwellingup, Harvey, North Dandalup, North Yunderup, Pinjarra, South Yunderup and Waroona as well as the northern Bunbury suburbs of Australind and Leschenault.

History

The seat of Murray-Wellington (or Murray) has long been a stronghold of the Liberal Party and its predecessor parties. The district's most famous member was Ross McLarty, Premier of Western Australia between 1947 and 1953, who held the seat from 1930 to 1962.

The seat's one Labor member, Keith Read, arrived as a result of the 1989 state election. Read won the vacant seat even as his father and then Labor MP John Read was defeated in the neighbouring seat of Mandurah. Keith Read was defeated at the 1993 state election.

Members for Murray-Wellington

Murray (1890–1911)
Member		Party	Term
	William Paterson		1890–1895
	William James George	Opposition	1895–1902
	William Atkins	Independent	1902–1904
	John McLarty	Ministerial	1904–1909
	William James George	Ministerial	1909–1911
Murray-Wellington (1911–1950)
	William James George	Liberal (WA)	1911–1917
		Nationalist	1917–1930
	Ross McLarty	Nationalist	1930–1945
		Liberal	1945–1949
		Liberal Country League	1949–1950
Murray (1950–1983)
	Ross McLarty	Liberal Country League	1950–1962
	Henry Runciman	Liberal Country League	1962–1968
		Liberal	1968–1974
	Richard Shalders	Liberal	1974–1983
Murray-Wellington (1983–1989)
	John Bradshaw	Liberal	1983–1989
Murray (1989–1996)
	Keith Read	Labor	1989–1993
	Arthur Marshall	Liberal	1993–1996
Murray-Wellington (1996–2005)
	John Bradshaw	Liberal	1996–2005
Murray (2005–2008)
	Murray Cowper	Liberal	2005–2008
Murray-Wellington (2008–present)
	Murray Cowper	Liberal	2008–present

Election results

Western Australian state election, 2013: Murray-Wellington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Murray Cowper	10,044	49.9	+4.9
	Labor	David Scaife	5,674	28.2	–1.4
	WA Nationals	Michael Rose	2,280	11.3	+3.3
	Greens	Deni Fuller	1,134	5.6	–1.2
	Family First	Laurie Rankin	621	3.1	–3.1
	Independent	Norm Heslington	383	1.9	+1.9
Total formal votes			20,136	93.0	-1.1
Informal votes			1,507	7.0	+1.1
Turnout			21,643	90.5
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Murray Cowper	12,476	62.0	+3.2
	Labor	David Scaife	7,653	38.0	–3.2
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.2

References

External links

• ABC Election Profiles: 2005 2008
• WAEC District Maps: 1996–2005 2005–2008 2008–