Torrens – SA 2014

ALP 8.2%

Incumbent MP
Robyn Geraghty, since 1994.

Geography
North-eastern Adelaide. Torrens covers the suburbs of Greenacres, Hampstead Gardens, Hillcrest, Holden Hill, Northgate, Oakden, Windsor Gardens, and parts of Dernancourt, Gilles Plains, Hope Valley, Klemzig and Northfield.

Map of Torrens' 2010 and 2014 boundaries. 2010 boundaries marked as red lines, 2014 boundaries marked as white area. Click to enlarge.
Map of Torrens’ 2010 and 2014 boundaries. 2010 boundaries marked as red lines, 2014 boundaries marked as white area. Click to enlarge.

Redistribution
Torrens lost areas near Broadview in the south-western corner of the seat, and around Dernancourt in the west of the seat. This increased the ALP’s margin from 7.7% to 8.2%.

History
The electorate has existed continuously since 1993. The seat was won in 1993 by the Liberal Party, but it has been held by the ALP continuously since a 1994 by-election.

The name ‘Torrens’ was used for two previous electorates: a multi-member electorate from 1902 to 1915, and another district from 1938 to 1985. The 1938-85 seat was held by the Liberal Party for all but one term during its existence.

The current version of Torrens was created as a notional Labor seat in 1993, but was won by the Liberal Party’s Joe Tiernan.

Tiernan died in 1994, and the ensuing Torrens by-election was won by Robyn Geraghty.

Geraghty was re-elected in 1997, 2002, 2006 and 2010. Her margin peaked at 19.1% at the 2006 election.

Candidates
Sitting Labor MP Robyn Geraghty is not running for re-election. The ALP is running former senator Dana Wortley. The Liberal Party is running Michael Manetta. The Greens are running Anne Walker. Family First are running Owen Hood.

Assessment
Torrens is held by a margin of 8.1%, which in most circumstances should be enough to safely remain in Labor hands.

2010 result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Robyn Geraghty ALP 10,265 49.4 -9.4
Stuart Lomax LIB 7,292 35.1 +11.0
Peter Fiebig GRN 1,657 8.0 +1.5
Owen Hood FF 1,575 7.6 +0.3

2010 two-party-preferred result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Robyn Geraghty ALP 11,988 57.7 -11.5
Stuart Lomax LIB 8,801 42.3 +11.5

 

Polling places in Torrens at the 2010 state election. Central in orange, East in green, West in blue. Click to enlarge.
Polling places in Torrens at the 2010 state election. Central in orange, East in green, West in blue. Click to enlarge.

Booth breakdown
Booths have been divided into three areas: East, Central and West. Booths in Tea Tree Gully council area have been grouped as East, while those in Port Adelaide Enfield were divided between Central and West.

The ALP won a majority in all three areas, ranging from 55.2% in the east, to 60.7% in the centre of the seat. The Greens came third across the seat, with Family First close behind. The Greens outpolled Family First in the centre of the seat, with Family First coming third in the east and west.

Voter group FF % GRN % ALP 2PP % Total votes % of ordinary votes
Central 6.93 8.59 60.70 5,657 34.63
West 7.50 7.02 57.19 5,629 34.46
East 7.55 7.09 55.17 5,048 30.90
Other votes 8.55 9.36 58.07 4,455
Two-party-preferred votes in Torrens at the 2010 state election.
Two-party-preferred votes in Torrens at the 2010 state election.

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