ALP 17.1%
Incumbent MP
John Eren, since 2006. Previously Member of the Legislative Council for Geelong Province 2002-2006.
Geography
Western fringe of Melbourne. Lara covers northern parts of the City of Greater Geelong, including Corio, Drumcondra, Moorabool and North Geelong.
History
Lara was created in 2002. It was considered a safe Labor seat, but was made much safer when Labor candidate Peter Loney won the seat with a 9.6% swing. Loney had previously held the seat of Geelong North since 1992, before it was abolished at the 2002 redistribution.
In 2006, Loney faced a preselection challenge from John Eren, a member of the Legislative Council whose seat had been abolished as part of the reforms to the upper house. Loney retired, and Eren was elected as the new Labor member for Lara. Eren was re-elected in 2010 and 2014.
Candidates
- Dean Cardigan (Socialists)
- Bronwen Baker (Animal Justice)
- Melissa Di Pasquale (Liberal)
- Amber Forbes (Greens)
- John Eren (Labor)
Assessment
Lara is a very safe Labor seat.
2014 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| John Eren | Labor | 21,457 | 55.9 | +2.9 |
| Tony Mcmanus | Liberal | 11,090 | 28.9 | -2.3 |
| Gregory Lacey | Greens | 3,413 | 8.9 | +0.5 |
| Rami Fosberry | Family First | 1,256 | 3.3 | -1.6 |
| George Reed | Country Alliance | 1,148 | 3.0 | +0.8 |
| Informal | 1,851 | 4.6 |
2014 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| John Eren | Labor | 25,746 | 67.1 | +3.3 |
| Tony McManus | Liberal | 12,618 | 32.9 | -3.3 |
Booth breakdown
Booths in Lara have been divided into three parts. Most of the electorate lives in the Geelong urban area at the southern end of the electorate, and these areas have been split into Central and South. The remaining semi-rural booths have been grouped together as “North”.
Labor won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all three areas, ranging from 59.5% in the north to 78.5% in the centre.
| Voter group | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| Central | 78.5 | 9,131 | 23.8 |
| South | 63.6 | 6,993 | 18.2 |
| North | 59.5 | 6,918 | 18.0 |
| Other votes | 62.7 | 4,252 | 11.1 |
| Pre-poll | 66.4 | 11,070 | 28.9 |
Two-party-preferred votes in Lara at the 2014 Victorian state election