ALP 14.3%
Incumbent MP
Matthew Hughes, since 2017.
- Geography
- Redistribution
- History
- Candidate summary
- Assessment
- 2021 results
- Booth breakdown
- Results maps
Geography
Eastern Perth. Kalamunda covers suburbs including Kalamunda, Lesmurdie, Mundaring, Pickering Brook, Walliston, Carmel and Darlington, and stretching further east to Woololoo. The seat is split between the Kalamunda and Mundaring council areas.
Redistribution
Kalamunda shifted north-east, gaining Wooroloo, Chidlow, Mount Helena and the Lakes from Swan Hills, losing Gooseberry Hill to Forrestfield and Orange Grove and Martin to Thornlie. These changes increased the Labor margin from 11.8% to 14.3%.
History
Kalamunda was created as a new seat in 2008. A previous seat with the same name existed from 1974 to 1989. The seat and its neighbour, Darling Range, have occasionally replaced each other in redistributions and on a number of occasions have had members switch from one seat to the other. Both seats had been won at every election by the Liberal Party for over 50 years, until 2017.
Ian Thompson moved to Kalamunda in 1974 after Darling Range was abolished. He had been elected to Darling Range in 1971. Darling Range was restored in 1977, but Thompson held Kalamunda until it was abolished in 1989. He then moved to Darling Range and held it for one term, although he finished his term as an independent after resigning from the Liberal Party in 1990.
In 1993, Thompson was succeeded as Member for Darling Range by John Day. Day held Darling Range for fifteen years, being re-elected in 1996, 2001 and 2005.
In 2008, Kalamunda was restored as a seat name, taking over a large part of the former seat of Darling Range. Day moved to Kalamunda and was re-elected, and won the seat again in 2013.
A 12.7% swing swept out Day in 2017, electing Labor candidate Matthew Hughes. Hughes was re-elected in 2021.
Candidates
Sitting Labor MP Matthew Hughes is not running for re-election.
Assessment
Kalamunda covers areas that have traditionally favoured the Liberal Party, but Labor has won the seat in landslide results in 2017 and 2021. Based on the ranking of Labor support by seat, Labor probably doesn’t need to retain this seat to stay in power. A Liberal win here would help the party build up a stronger base and bring them closer to power, but wouldn’t be enough to change government.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Matthew Hughes | Labor | 13,100 | 51.3 | +14.3 | 53.7 |
| Liam Staltari | Liberal | 8,124 | 31.8 | -5.9 | 29.3 |
| Lee-Anne Miles | Greens | 2,164 | 8.5 | -4.3 | 8.6 |
| Brady Williams | Australian Christians | 651 | 2.5 | -0.2 | 2.7 |
| Michael Fane | No Mandatory Vaccination | 415 | 1.6 | +1.6 | 1.9 |
| Carolyn Trigwell | Liberal Democrats | 382 | 1.5 | +1.4 | 1.3 |
| Maureen Butters | One Nation | 372 | 1.5 | -5.8 | 1.2 |
| Stephen Phelan | Western Australia Party | 267 | 1.0 | -0.2 | 0.9 |
| Robert Ellis | WAxit | 74 | 0.3 | -0.7 | 0.4 |
| Informal | 836 | 3.2 |
2021 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Matthew Hughes | Labor | 15,781 | 61.8 | +9.5 | 64.3 |
| Liam Staltari | Liberal | 9,763 | 38.2 | -9.5 | 35.7 |
Polling places have been split into three parts: north-east, north-west and south.
Labor’s two-party-preferred vote ranged from 57% in the south to 71.7% in the north-west.
The Greens came third, with a vote just under 9% in the north-west and south, and 13% in the north-east.
| Voter group | GRN prim % | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| North-West | 8.9 | 71.7 | 4,229 | 15.9 |
| South | 8.7 | 57.0 | 3,719 | 14.0 |
| North-East | 13.0 | 65.6 | 3,379 | 12.7 |
| Pre-poll | 6.9 | 62.6 | 9,537 | 35.8 |
| Other votes | 8.4 | 65.7 | 5,761 | 21.6 |
Election results in Kalamunda at the 2021 WA state election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and primary votes for Labor, the Liberal Party and the Greens.
I reckon a good Independent would have a decent shot here. Voices for Kalamunda or Indi for Munda sounds like a thing.
@CG what makes you think that?
It has the demographics of a wealthy-well educated electorate with a respective Green vote. Alot of issues like anti-Satterly attitude would work well with an Independent.
If not Greens could poll 15% – I expect Libs would pick up Kalamunda although.
This is the seat where it is lining up for a major upset.
Nats to win with 25% of primary vote.
Have very active local candidate and have Mia Davis campaigning hard in the area as well.
Nats to also win:( with 4-6% increases in primary vote from ALP) Mid West, Roe, Central Wheatbelt (still no lib candidate),Warren Blackwood and Geraldton.
Also toss up in Albany and Kalgoorlie (could go NT/Lib/ALP)
Also expect Nats to come 2nd in Pilbara and Collie Preston (still no lib candidate).
So Nats 5- 8 seats.
@nick nat will win midwest geraldton, central wheatbelt, roe and warren blackwood. either libs or nats will likely win kalgoorlie and albany. i expect them to finish second in pilbara but the libs will finish second in collie-preston.
How would the Nats win Kalamunda? It’s not a farming seat, and the Nats have no recent history of even running in, let alone winning seats in the hills. Davies is obviously trying to campaign in all of Bullwinkel, not just the bit she currently represents in state parliament (a quarter of it), but it doesn’t mean she’ll get far.
CG: Liberals for Forests (a proto-teal sorta thing) did well in Darling Range in 2001 (despite the name, it’s basically the current Kalamunda). They also won Alfred Cove and came second in Nedlands. Another few % and the teal breakthrough could’ve happened 20 years earlier than it did.
Can’t see nats winning at state level. And I expect Mia davies to run at least second to Labor federally if not 3rd to them and the libs . Nats running in bullwinkel and splitting the vote could cause coalition to lose the seat. If Mia davies breaks into the 2cp against Labor people in this part of bullwinkel could vote Lib 1 Lab 2. So it will be interesting to see both the lab v lib and lab v nat result.
given the resignation of the member matthew Hughes id say lib gain here
My prediction: With the sitting member retiring, and this traditionally being a Liberal seat, I say the Liberals will win this back.
I suspect that Labor can’t hold a seat like this without the retiring incumbent Hughes.
It certainly seems that their hold is tenuous, but there is 187 votes in it right now
Adam Hort has said on Facebook that the WAEC had officially counted all votes in Kalamunda that were cast. He leads by 88 votes over Labor, and said that a full distribution of preferences will be undertaken this Sunday. He’s ‘won’ the seat but the close result means it is still very much up for grabs.
There’s also a booth missing 2pp figures – Wooroloo, with 325 votes. A week and a half after the election, that’s strange, especially in such a close seat.
Barely half the votes there were for Labor or Libs. Labor copped a 39% swing, but barely any of it went to the Libs – the Nats came second with 24%, and it was also the best booth in the seat for One Nation and Legalise Cannabis. It’ll probably extend the Lib lead by a few dozen votes, but with such a large non-major vote, wait and see.
Is it just me or has the number of votes the Liberals are leading in Kalamunda cut from 88 to 64 votes on the ABC election result? At this point in the count I wasn’t expecting the race to tighten further.
The WAEC currently has the difference at 64 votes.
https://www.elections.wa.gov.au/elections/state/sgelection#/sg2025/electorate/KAA/results
The Liberals really have to win this seat in order to push their claim for official Opposition status. Same with Kalgoorlie.
@james even with equal numbers lib will get it. its about time the libs and nats form an official coalition in wa too
ABC is saying the Liberals will win Kalamunda, as I believe today the Wooroloo booth was added to the count. The full distribution of preferences should guarantee a Liberal win, and thus stake their claim on the Opposition.
The Liberals can jubilate in having won back the position of Leader of the Opposition.
Unfortunate news but the results of the distribution of preferences were released today, and while Adam Hort still leads, he only leads by 83 votes on the 2PP, meaning a recount. Another wait for results.
Here is the official 3CP here:
LIB (Hort) – 12564 – 44.4%
ALP (Beale) – 10007 – 35.4%
GRN (Sewell) – 5713 – 20.2%
The 2PP after the full distribution of preferences (23/3/25)
LIB (Hort) – 14181 – 50.1%
ALP (Beale) – 14098 – 49.9%
Hort wins by 83 votes.
And based off of quick calculations, Labor benefitted 70-30 from Greens preferences, a little interesting as usually this would be 80+%, however I know Kalamunda has a large population of environmentally conscious voters especially along the Great Eastern Highway, who socially lean conservative but are animated by environmental preservation, Conservati-onists, small-g Greens or Tree Tories perhaps would be a general name.
According to Adam Hort’s Facebook, he said that a recount would start at 9am AWST (11am for AEST), so very interesting to watch. I’d say he’s won the seat but I am intrigued to see how tight the end result is. Either way it’s the closest this election.
Very surprised the Greens 3CP is over 20%, is this seat perhaps similar to something like Casey in Victoria?
This is a big issue of a large development in this area which I think cost Labor and the high environmental vote
@Drake yes, that’s a decent comparison.
Adam Hort has just claimed victory. ABC is still saying Liberals are likely to win but no confirmation, yet I expect the recount to return a Liberal win.
ABC has now called Kalamunda as an official Liberal gain, and based on the comment made on the ABC page it seems the recount was done at 9pm AWST (unless I’m wrong)