Bendigo East – Victoria 2014

ALP 3.2%

Incumbent MP
Jacinta Allan, since 1999.

Geography
Eastern suburbs of Bendigo, and areas to the north of Bendigo, including Strathfieldsaye, Huntly and Elmore. Bendigo East includes a majority of those rural areas included in the City of Greater Bendigo, as well as parts of Loddon Shire.

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

Redistribution
Bendigo gained areas on its northern border: Elmore from Rodney, and Serpentine from Swan Hill. Bendigo East lost Marong to Bendigo West and Bridgewater to Ripon, as well as a small area in Euroa. The ALP margin was reduced from 3.8% to 3.2%.

History
Bendigo East has existed for two different periods: from 1904-1927, and since 1985.

The original seat was first won by an unaligned MP, but was held by the ALP from 1907 to 1927.

The new seat was won in 1985 by Michael John of the Liberal Party. He served on the Liberal frontbench from 1988, and served in the ministry for the Kennett government’s first term from 1992-1996.

In 1999, John was defeated by 25-year-old Jacinta Allan of the ALP. Allan joined the Bracks ministry in 2002, and still serves as a state government minister today.

Candidates

  1. Greg Bickley (Liberal)
  2. Cameron Dowling (Country Alliance)
  3. Lynette Bell (Rise Up Australia)
  4. Jacinta Allan (Labor)
  5. Jennifer Alden (Greens)
  6. Glenis Bradshaw (Family First)

Assessment
Bendigo East is a marginal seat, but if there is a general swing to the ALP across the state, the seat will probably stay with Labor.

2010 election result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing Redist
Jacinta Allan Labor 16,079 43.85 -3.03 43.24
Michael Langdon Liberal 12,864 35.08 +0.56 34.01
Tim Bardsley Greens 2,295 6.26 -0.94 6.27
Peter Schwarz Nationals 2,196 5.99 -0.42 7.69
Rod Leunig Country Alliance 1,275 3.48 +3.48 3.44
Gary Hillier Sex Party 824 2.25 +2.25 2.21
Belinda Guerra Family First 447 1.22 -3.12 1.29
James Stewart Democratic Labor 412 1.12 +1.12 1.11
Ben Veitz Christian Democrats 275 0.75 +0.75 0.74

2010 two-party-preferred result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing Redist
Jacinta Allan Labor 19,797 53.82 -1.53 53.16
Michael Langdon Liberal 16,989 46.18 +1.53 46.84
Polling places in Bendigo East at the 2010 Victorian state election. Bendigo Central in yellow, Bendigo North in green, Bendigo South in blue, Rural in red. Click to enlarge.
Polling places in Bendigo East at the 2010 Victorian state election. Bendigo Central in yellow, Bendigo North in green, Bendigo South in blue, Rural in red. Click to enlarge.

Booth breakdown
Booths in Bendigo East have been divided into four parts. Three of these areas are in the Bendigo urban area: Bendigo Central, Bendigo North and Bendigo South. The remainder of the seat was grouped as “rural”.

The ALP won a majority in all three urban parts of the seat, ranging from 52.7% in Bendigo Central to 60% in Bendigo North. The Coalition won 61.3% in the rural parts of the seat – in some parts of the seat, this was the Liberal candidate, but in those parts transferred into Bendigo East from Rodney and Swan Hills, the Coalition candidate was the Nationals candidate.

Voter group GRN % ALP 2PP % Total % of votes
Bendigo Central 7.39 52.67 9,270 25.44
Bendigo North 4.72 60.02 7,260 19.92
Bendigo South 6.78 53.42 4,735 12.99
Rural 3.97 38.66 2,572 7.06
Other votes 6.62 52.44 12,607 34.59
Two-party-preferred votes in Bendigo East at the 2010 Victorian state election.
Two-party-preferred votes in Bendigo East at the 2010 Victorian state election.
Two-party-preferred votes in urban parts of Bendigo East at the 2010 Victorian state election.
Two-party-preferred votes in urban parts of Bendigo East at the 2010 Victorian state election.

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