ALP 5.7%
Incumbent MP
Eddie Hughes, since 2014.
Geography
North-western parts of South Australia. Giles is a massive electorate, with most of the electorate’s population in the town of Whyalla in the south-eastern corner of the electorate, and then stretching out to the northwestern corner of the state, covering Coober Pedy, Roxby Downs and Woomera. The electorate also covers Flinders Ranges council area, at the eastern edge of the electorate.
Redistribution
The boundaries of Giles mostly stayed the same, but the seat gained most of the Franklin Harbour council area, including Cowell, from the neighbouring seat of Flinders. This reduced the Labor margin from 7% to 5.7%.
History
The electorate of Giles has existed since 1993, when it replaced the former electorate of Whyalla, which had existed since 1956. Both electorates were always held by the ALP.
Frank Blevins was the third Labor MP to represent Whyalla when he was elected in 1985. Blevins served as a minister, and rose to the position of Deputy Premier from 1992 to 1993. In 1993, he ran for the reconstituted seat of Giles.
Blevins retired in 1997, and Lyn Breuer won Giles, again for the ALP. Breuer won re-election in 2002, 2006 and 2010. She served as Speaker of the House of Assembly from 2010 to 2013.
Breuer retired in 2014, and Labor’s Eddie Hughes won Giles.
Candidates
- Anna Taylor (Greens)
- Cyanne Westerman (Dignity)
- Cheryl Kaminski (Conservatives)
- Eddie Hughes (Labor)
- Mark Walsh (Liberal)
- Tom Antonio (SA Best)
Assessment
Giles is a marginal Labor seat. The loss of the incumbent MP may hurt Labor’s vote.
2014 election result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Eddie Hughes | Labor | 9,800 | 51.4 | -1.2 | 49.6 |
| Bernadette Abraham | Liberal | 7,134 | 37.4 | +8.1 | 39.2 |
| Cheryl Kaminski | Family First | 1,196 | 6.3 | +0.3 | 6.2 |
| Alison Sentance | Greens | 942 | 4.9 | -7.2 | 4.9 |
| Informal | 581 | 3.0 |
2014 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Eddie Hughes | Labor | 10,877 | 57.0 | -4.9 | 55.7 |
| Bernadette Abraham | Liberal | 8,195 | 43.0 | +4.9 | 44.3 |
Booth breakdown
Booths in Giles have been divided into four areas. Polling places in the Whyalla urban area were split between east and west. The remainder of the seat was split between booths in the south of the electorate and the outback.
The two-party-preferred vote varied wildly between Whyalla (which makes up a majority of the seat) and the rural remainder. Labor polled 64% in the east of Whyalla and almost 73% in the west. On the other hand, the remainder of the south gave a 78.5% to the Liberal Party, and the Liberal Party polled 64.3% in the outback.
| Voter group | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| Whyalla West | 72.8 | 5,540 | 27.7 |
| Whyalla East | 64.0 | 4,079 | 20.4 |
| South | 21.5 | 2,051 | 10.3 |
| Outback | 35.7 | 1,894 | 9.5 |
| Other votes | 51.0 | 6,401 | 32.1 |
Two-party-preferred votes in Giles at the 2014 SA state election
Typo…
Under the heading Assessment you say “Wright” is a marginal Labor seat.
Seat is “Giles”
Thanks, fixed.
My prediction: Labor aren’t mega popular anymore at the state level, so even this is an SA Best target decide their slip back in the polls. Possible SA Best gain.
SA Best not really best seem very dodgy for a man that running for Giles knows everything, denies everything then has know comment. Thuggery, insider trading, racist faxes, then when challenged wants to sue the world for having an opinion that doesn’t match his. How do you trust a party with a leader who was anti pokies now they are OK to remain popular