LIB 5.1%
Incumbent MP
Dee Ryall, since 2014. Previously member for Mitcham 2010-2014.
Geography
Eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Ringwood takes in the suburbs of Mitcham, Ringwood, Ringwood East and parts of Blackburn North, Croydon, Donvale, Ringwood North and Nunawading.
History
Ringwood was a new name for the seat of Mitcham when it was restored in 2014.
Ringwood previously existed from 1958 to 1992. It was held by the Liberal Party from 1958 to 1982, and by Labor for a decade before its abolition.
Mitcham existed from 1967 until 2014. It was a marginal electorate for most of that time, alternating between the Labor Party and Liberal Party.
Mitcham was first won in 1967 by the Liberal Party’s Dorothy Goble. She held the seat until her retirement in 1976.
Mitcham was won in 1976 by George Cox, also of the Liberal Party. He held the seat for two terms, but was defeated in 1982. He later went on to hold the seat of Nunawading from 1988 to 1996.
Cox was defeated in 1982 by John Harrowfield. He served as a minister in the Kirner government from 1991 to 1992, when he lost his seat, and the government lost power.
Harrowfield was defeated in 1992 by Roger Pescott. He had previously served as Member for Bennettswood since 1985.
Pescott was re-elected in 1996, but in 1997 he resigned from Parliament, triggering a by-election. The ensuing by-election was won by the ALP’s Tony Robinson with a 16% swing.
Robinson was re-elected narrowly in 1999 with a 0.5% margin. He increased that to a 7.8% margin in 2002, before it was reduced to a 2% margin in 2006. In 2010, Mitcham was won by Liberal candidate Dee Ryall, with a 4.7% swing. Ryall was re-elected as member for Ringwood in 2014.
Candidates
- Dustin Halse (Labor)
- Robert Humphreys (Greens)
- Dee Ryall (Liberal)
Assessment
Ringwood is a marginal Liberal seat.
2014 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Dee Ryall | Liberal | 17,440 | 48.1 | -1.6 |
| Tony Clark | Labor | 11,777 | 32.5 | +0.7 |
| Brendan Powell | Greens | 3,903 | 10.8 | -1.1 |
| Michael Challinger | Independent | 1,440 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Karen Dobby | Australian Christians | 1,131 | 3.1 | +3.1 |
| Brian Dungey | Country Alliance | 279 | 0.8 | +0.8 |
| Steve Raskovy | People Power/No Smart Meters | 287 | 0.8 | +0.8 |
| Informal | 1,643 | 4.3 |
2014 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Dee Ryall | Liberal | 19,919 | 55.1 | -1.2 |
| Tony Clark | Labor | 16,250 | 44.9 | +1.2 |
Booth breakdown
Booths in Ringwood have been divided into four areas: central, north-east, south-east and west.
The Liberal Party won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all four areas, ranging from 53% in the south-east to 57.8% in the north-east.
The Greens primary vote ranged from 10.6% in the north-east to 11.6% in the south-east.
| Voter group | GRN prim % | LIB 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| West | 10.9 | 53.5 | 6,148 | 17.0 |
| South-East | 11.6 | 53.0 | 5,505 | 15.2 |
| Central | 11.2 | 54.2 | 4,929 | 13.6 |
| North-East | 10.6 | 57.8 | 4,738 | 13.1 |
| Other votes | 10.9 | 55.7 | 7,191 | 19.8 |
| Pre-poll | 9.8 | 55.5 | 7,746 | 21.4 |
Election results in Ringwood at the 2014 Victorian state election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and Greens primary votes.
(Wrong party in the top-line, Ben).
The last redistribution improved the Liberal position here, compared to the old Mitcham. The Liberals would have won on these boundaries in 2006.
The 1997 Mitcham by-election ought to rate as one of the more consequential by-elections in recent history; even if only in retrospect. Without the benefit of incumbency, Labor probably doesn’t win the seat – and therefore the election – in 1999.
Dustin Halse is the Labor candidate for Ringwood.
Labor have left their run for this seat far too late.
With the fullness of time, the seat should revert to being more marginal.
My prediction: Likely Liberal hold, this is significantly better for the Liberals than the old Mitcham was (the old Mitcham would likely have gone back to Labor in 2014).