Lara – Victoria 2014

ALP 13.8%

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.

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

Redistribution
Lara previously covered western parts of the City of Wyndham, including Wyndham Vale immediately to the west of Werribee. These areas were transferred to the new seat of Werribee, and in exchange Lara took in more of the Geelong urban area, in particular Drumcondra and Hamlyn Heights. These changes cut the Labor margin from 15.4% to 13.8%.

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.

Candidates

  1. Greg Lacey (Greens)
  2. George Reed (Country Alliance)
  3. John Eren (Labor)
  4. Tony McManus (Liberal)
  5. Rami Fosberry (Family First)

Assessment
Lara is a safe Labor seat.

2010 election result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing Redist
John Eren Labor 20,778 53.61 -5.59 52.52
Robert Eyton Liberal 11,366 29.33 +3.39 31.75
Rob Leach Greens 3,401 8.77 +2.12 8.48
Glenn Colla Family First 2,324 6.00 -2.21 4.78
Keith McDermott Country Alliance 889 2.29 +2.29 2.13
Other independents 0.34

2010 two-party-preferred result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing Redist
John Eren Labor 25,299 65.40 -2.53 63.80
Robert Eyton Liberal 13,387 34.60 +2.53 36.20
Polling places in Lara at the 2010 Victorian state election. Central in green, North in orange, South in blue. Click to enlarge.
Polling places in Lara at the 2010 Victorian state election. Central in green, North in orange, South in blue. Click to enlarge.

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”.

The ALP won a massive 74.8% majority in Central, and smaller majorities in the north (55.4%) and the south (58%).

Voter group GRN % ALP 2PP % Total % of votes
Central 8.07 74.81 10,031 27.80
South 7.30 57.99 7,043 19.52
North 9.46 55.37 6,869 19.04
Other votes 8.95 61.27 12,139 33.64
Two-party-preferred votes in Lara at the 2010 Victorian state election.
Two-party-preferred votes in Lara at the 2010 Victorian state election.

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