LIB 13.8%
Incumbent MP
Nola Marino, since 2007.
Geography
South-western corner of Western Australia. Forrest covers the towns of Bunbury, Busselton and Margaret River. Forrest is made up of Augusta-Margaret River, Bunbury, Busselton, Capel, Dardanup, Donnybrook-Balingup, Harvey and Nanrup council areas.
Redistribution
Forrest lost the Collie council area to O’Connor. This increased the Liberal margin from 12.8% to 13.8%.
History
Forrest was created for the 1922 election. It has been held predominantly by conservative parties, first by the Country Party before the Second World War and then the Liberal Party. It has only been won by the ALP at three elections.
John Prowse won Forrest in 1922 for the Country Party. Prowse had won the seat of Swan in 1919, before moving to the new seat in 1922. Prowse held the seat for two decades, until his defeat in 1943.
The ALP’s Nelson Lemmon won Forrest in 1943. He was re-elected in 1946, and was then appointed Minister for Works and Housing in the Chifley government, and he was responsible for the commencement of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. He lost Forrest in 1949.
The Liberal Party’s Gordon Freeth won Forrest in 1949. He was appointed to the Menzies government’s ministry in 1958, and served as a minister continuously until his defeat in 1969, when Forrest was won by the ALP’s Frank Kirwan.
Kirwan lost in 1972, going against the trend which saw the Whitlam government end 23 years of Liberal rule. He was defeated by Liberal candidate Peter Drummond. Drummond held the seat until his retirement in 1987.
Geoff Prosser won Forrest in 1987. He joined the Liberal frontbench in 1990, and was appointed as a minister in the Howard government after the 1996 election. He only lasted until 1997, when he was forced to resign due to breaches of the code of conduct. He served as a backbencher until his retirement in 2007.
Nola Marino was elected in 2007, and re-elected in 2010 and 2013.
Candidates
- Ross Slater (Independent)
- Edward Dabrowski (Australian Christians)
- David Fishlock (Outdoor Recreation Party)
- Jennifer Whately (Rise Up Australia)
- Nola Marino (Liberal)
- Luke Pilkington (Nationals)
- Lorrae Loud (Labor)
- Jill Reading (Greens)
Assessment
Forrest is a safe Liberal seat.
2013 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Nola Marino | Liberal | 42,640 | 49.9 | +1.0 | 51.0 |
| John Joseph Borlini | Labor | 21,579 | 25.3 | -2.9 | 23.8 |
| Gordon Tayler | Greens | 8,136 | 9.5 | -4.0 | 9.8 |
| Michael Rose | Nationals | 5,338 | 6.3 | +0.3 | 6.4 |
| Edward Gregory Dabrowski | Palmer United Party | 4,301 | 5.0 | +5.0 | 4.9 |
| Wayne Barnett | Australian Christians | 1,374 | 1.6 | +1.6 | 1.6 |
| Bev Custers | Family First | 1,270 | 1.5 | -0.5 | 1.5 |
| Mark Morien | Rise Up Australia | 581 | 0.7 | +0.7 | 0.7 |
| Ian Tuffnell | Citizens Electoral Council | 204 | 0.2 | +0.2 | 0.2 |
| Informal | 5,095 | 6.0 |
2013 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Nola Marino | Liberal | 53,198 | 62.3 | +3.5 | 63.8 |
| John Joseph Borlini | Labor | 32,225 | 37.7 | -3.5 | 36.2 |
Booth breakdown
Booths have been divided into five areas. Polling places in Bunbury, Busselton and Harvey local government areas have been divided along council lines, with the remainder of the electorate split into “South” and “Central”.
The Liberal Party won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all five areas, ranging from 56.5% in the south to 68.7% in Busselton.
The Greens came third, with a vote ranging from 5.8% in the north to 22.4% in the south.
| Voter group | GRN % | LIB 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| Central | 8.3 | 65.1 | 14,865 | 18.5 |
| Bunbury | 8.9 | 58.5 | 13,819 | 17.2 |
| Busselton | 11.3 | 68.7 | 13,531 | 16.9 |
| North | 5.8 | 64.8 | 10,631 | 13.3 |
| South | 22.4 | 56.5 | 5,679 | 7.1 |
| Other votes | 9.1 | 63.8 | 21,634 | 27.0 |
I believe a lot of miners actually live in Busselton and surrounds and FIFO to the mines from Perth airport. Weakening local economy and fall out from the resources slow down will probably see a big swing here, but I expect a LNP retain.