ALP 0.9%
Incumbent MP
Anne Aly, since 2016.
- Geography
- Redistribution
- History
- Candidate summary
- Assessment
- 2019 results
- Booth breakdown
- Results maps
Geography
Cowan covers parts of the northern suburbs of Perth. These include the suburbs of Girrawheen, Greenwood, Marangaroo, Alexander Heights, Ballajura, Noranda, Beechboro, Lockridge, Mirrabooka, Nollamara, Balcatta and Stirling.
Redistribution
Cowan was radically redrawn, shifting south and taking in large parts of the abolished seat of Stirling, along with small parts of the seat of Perth.
The seat was first created in 1984, and was first won by Carolyn Jakobsen of the ALP. Jakobsen held the seat until she was defeated by Richard Evans of the Liberal Party in 1993.
Evans was himself defeated in 1998 by wheelchair-bound Vietnam veteran and former state minister Graham Edwards, standing for the ALP. Edwards was a popular local member and held the seat until he retired at the 2007 election. The Liberals took the opportunity to win the seat off the ALP. Cowan was one of only two seats the Liberals gained in 2007.
The Liberal Party’s Luke Simpkins won the seat in 2007 after running for the first time in 2004, and was re-elected twice in 2010 and 2013, increasing his margin every time. Simpkins built up a substantial margin over nine years, but the redistribution before the 2016 election sliced his margin by 3%, and a further 5.2% swing to Labor saw him lose to Labor candidate Anne Aly. Aly was re-elected in 2019.
Assessment
Cowan is a very marginal seat. Aly’s position in the seat is also made more difficult because about half of the electorate are new additions, but a swing to Labor in Western Australia would probably lead to her winning a third term.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Isaac Stewart | Liberal | 33,438 | 39.4 | -2.8 | 40.0 |
| Anne Aly | Labor | 32,353 | 38.1 | -3.6 | 37.8 |
| Mark Cooper | Greens | 8,551 | 10.1 | +2.5 | 11.1 |
| Sheila Mundy | One Nation | 4,777 | 5.6 | +5.6 | 4.7 |
| Peter Westcott | United Australia Party | 2,171 | 2.6 | +2.6 | 2.3 |
| Andre Lebrasse | Australian Christians | 1,981 | 2.3 | -1.0 | 1.8 |
| Paul James Bedford | Shooters, Fishers and Farmers | 1,582 | 1.9 | -1.0 | 0.8 |
| Others | 1.5 | ||||
| Informal | 4,850 | 5.4 | -0.1 |
2019 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Anne Aly | Labor | 43,135 | 50.8 | +0.2 | 50.9 |
| Isaac Stewart | Liberal | 41,718 | 49.2 | -0.2 | 49.1 |
Booths have been divided into three areas: east, north-west and south-west.
Labor won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in the east (56.5%) and north-west (56%), while the Liberal Party polled 52.3% in the south-west.
The Greens came third, with a primary vote ranging from 10.5% in the east to 11% in the north-west.
| Voter group | GRN prim % | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| North-West | 11.0 | 56.0 | 25,314 | 25.5 |
| South-West | 10.6 | 47.7 | 19,643 | 19.8 |
| East | 10.5 | 56.5 | 18,286 | 18.4 |
| Pre-poll | 10.4 | 45.8 | 19,073 | 19.2 |
| Other votes | 13.2 | 46.6 | 17,107 | 17.2 |
Election results in Cowan at the 2019 federal election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and primary votes for the Liberal Party, Labor and the Greens.
@nimlan the current boundaries would have been won 2019 results by the libs. Though I suspect anne aly would have just rerun I. 20222 and won it back. I’m gonna say marginal Labor again 2025 unless either side majority screws up. Definitely in play in 2028
Top five least English-speaking seats in WA:
1. Cowan (Labor): 60.9%
2. Burt (Labor): 63.7%
3. Swan (Labor): 65.8%
4. Tangney (Labor): 66.1%
5. Perth (Labor): 69.5%