ALP 1.1%
Incumbent MP
Peter Watson, since 2001.
Geography
The seat of Albany covers the City of Albany and the neighbouring Shire of Jerramungup. Most of the population is in the Albany urban area.
Redistribution
The seat of Albany previously covered just the City of Albany, but has expanded to take in the Shire of Jerramungup, which was previously contained in Wagin. These changes cut the Labor margin from 2% to 1.1%.
History
Albany has existed as an electoral district continuously since 1890.
The seat was held by the ALP from 1924 until 1936, then by the Country Party from 1936 until 1956. The ALP’s Jack Hall and Wyndham Cook held the seat from 1956 until 1974 in succession.
Leo Watt won the seat for the Liberal Party in 1974. He held the seat for two decades, retiring in 1993.
The Liberal Party’s Kevin Prince saw off a fierce challenge from the National Party in 1993, and was re-elected in 1996.
In 2001, Prince was defeated by the ALP’s Peter Watson. Watson was re-elected in 2005, 2008 and 2013.
Candidates
- David Rastrick (Greens)
- Ian ‘t Hart (Australian Christians)
- Robert Sutton (Nationals)
- Peter Watson (Labor)
- Greg Stocks (Liberal)
- Anthony Griffiths (One Nation)
Assessment
Albany is a marginal Labor seat, but as a regional seat it is unlike most Labor seats. It is unclear how much of the growth in the Labor vote at a statewide level will benefit Labor in Albany.
2013 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Peter Watson | Labor | 8,284 | 39.3 | +0.2 | 38.4 |
| Trevor Cosh | Liberal | 6,061 | 28.8 | -4.1 | 28.5 |
| Robert Sutton | Nationals | 4,357 | 20.7 | +7.4 | 22.1 |
| Diane Evers | Greens | 1,137 | 5.4 | -2.2 | 5.4 |
| Hans Vermeulen | Australian Christians | 831 | 3.9 | -0.9 | 3.9 |
| Barry Critchison | Family First | 386 | 1.8 | -0.4 | 1.8 |
| Informal | 828 | 3.8 |
2013 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Peter Watson | Labor | 10,957 | 52.0 | +1.8 | 51.1 |
| Trevor Cosh | Liberal | 10,094 | 48.0 | -1.8 | 48.9 |
Booth breakdown
Booths have been divided into four parts. Polling places in rural areas have been split into those to the east and west of Albany. The five polling places in the King River area near Albany have also been grouped together, with those in the Albany area (making up a majority of the seat’s population) have been grouped together.
Labor won over 54% of the vote after preferences in Albany, and a slim majority in western booths. The Nationals won a majority of the primary vote in the east, while the Liberal Party won a slim 51% majority in King River.
The Nationals primary vote ranged from 20% in Albany to 52% in the east of the seat.
| Voter group | NAT % | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| Albany | 19.9 | 54.4 | 10,838 | 50.0 |
| King River | 21.2 | 49.1 | 3,062 | 14.1 |
| West | 22.4 | 50.9 | 2,031 | 9.4 |
| East | 52.2 | 30.3 | 1,023 | 4.7 |
| Pre-poll | 20.8 | 50.0 | 1,444 | 6.7 |
| Other votes | 21.1 | 48.8 | 3,258 | 15.0 |
Election results in Albany at the 2013 WA state election
Click on the ‘visible layers’ box to toggle between two-party-preferred votes and Nationals primary votes.
It is clear that Peter Watson is very well liked and respected in his electorate. This isn’t natural Labor territory, if I remember correctly Albany itself went about 60-40 to the Liberals in the Federal Election. If Watson stays on, then he will retain the seat comfortably.
Albany recorded a swing to Labor at the 2013 election. The only other seat to do so was Mark McGowan’s Rockingham.
there are other country seats which labor can win…. Pilbara, North West Central and Bunbury (where the sitting Mp is retiring )
Peter Watson is a machine.
Over more than a decade, In all the elections he has run in since in Albany, he has cumulatively increased the Labor 2PP in his seat by 17.6%. Statewide, The ALP has lost 2.1% in the 2PP in this period. He has survived having his majority redistributed away twice.
Mick Murray is the only other Country MP that comes close to having his personal popularity. But even he had the benefit of a strong Labor base in Collie. Watto is just a political freak.
How does he do it?
He arguably only won in 2001 due to One Nation preferences, and he’s been defying the federal vote ever since. He must be a once in a generation political prodigy.
He is obviously well respected