Electoral division of Arafura

Arafura Northern Territory—Legislative Assembly
Arafura in the Northern Territory
Territory	Northern Territory
Created	1983
MP	Francis Maralampuwi Xavier
Party	Country Liberal Party
Namesake	Arafura Sea
Electors	5,477 (2012)
Area	156,087 km^2 (60,265.5 sq mi)
Demographic	Remote

Arafura is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1983, and takes its name from the Arafura Sea, which adjoins the electorate. The electorate is predominantly rural, encompassing 156,087 square kilometres (60,266 square miles) in western Arnhem Land and the Tiwi Islands, and including the towns of Oenpelli, Jabiru, Maningrida, Milikapiti and Nguiu. There were 5,477 people enrolled in the electorate as of August 2012.

Background

Arafura was a safe seat for the Australian Labor Party from its inception until 2012, when the seat was won by the Country Liberal Party in a 15 per cent swing. The electorate has a particularly high indigenous population, which has been reflected in its having been represented by four consecutive indigenous MPs.

Members for Arafura

Member		Party	Term
	Bob Collins	Labor	1983–1987
	Stan Tipiloura	Labor	1987–1992
	Maurice Rioli	Labor	1992–2001
	Marion Scrymgour	Labor	2001–2009
		Independent	2009
		Labor	2009–2012
	Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu	Country Liberal	2012–2014
		Independent	2014
		Palmer United	2014
		Country Liberal	2014–present

Election results

Northern Territory general election, 2012: Arafura[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Country Liberal	Francis Maralampuwi Xavier	1,308	43.1	+6.6
	Labor	Dean Rioli	1,104	36.4	−9.7
	Greens	George Pascoe	426	14.1	+14.1
	First Nations	Jeannie Gadambua	194	6.4	+6.4
Total formal votes			3,032	95.3	+1.3
Informal votes			148	4.7	−1.3
Turnout			3,180	58.1	−2.8
Two-party-preferred result
	Country Liberal	Francis Maralampuwi Xavier	1,547	51.0	+15.0
	Labor	Dean Rioli	1,485	49.0	−15.0
	Country Liberal gain from Labor		Swing	+15.0

References

1. http://www.ntec.nt.gov.au/ElectionLAgeneral/Results/Pages/default.aspx

External links

• Division profile from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission