Kavel – SA 2014

LIB 15.8%

Incumbent MP
Mark Goldsworthy, since 2002.

Geography
Regional South Australia. Kavel covers areas to the east of Adelaide, with most of the seat lying in the Adelaide Hills, as well as the town of Mount Barker.

Redistribution
No change.

History
The electorate of Kavel has existed since the 1970 election. The seat has been always held by the Liberal Party.

Roger Goldsworthy won Kavel in 1970. Goldsworthy served as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party from 1975 to 1982, first as Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and then from 1979 as Premier.

Goldsworthy was re-elected seven times, and resigned in 1992 to provide an opportunity for John Olsen to return to the state Parliament.

Olsen had been first elected to the House of Assembly as Member for Rocky River in 1979. Olsen was elected Liberal leader following the party’s defeat at the 1982 election, defeating his rival Dean Brown. He moved to the new seat of Custance in 1985, after Rocky River was abolished.

Olsen led the Liberal Party to defeat at the 1985 and 1989 elections, and in 1990 resigned from Parliament to run for the Senate at the 1990 election.

Olsen served barely two years in the Senate, before he resigned to run for the 1992 Kavel by-election. On the same day, Dean Brown returned to Parliament at the Alexandra by-election. Brown defeated Olsen for the Liberal leadership.

Brown led the Liberal Party to victory at the 1993 election, and became Premier. Olsen faced Brown for a third leadership ballot in 1996, and won the leadership, and became Premier.

Olsen led the Liberal Party to narrow victory at the 1997 election. In 2001, he was forced to resign as Premier due to the Motorola affair. He retired at the 2002 state election.

Mark Goldsworthy, son of former MP Roger Goldsworthy, won the seat of Kavel in 2002. He was re-elected in 2006 and 2010. Goldsworthy was challenged in 2002 and 2006 by Tom Playford, son of the former Premier, first as an independent and then for Family First.

Candidates
Sitting Liberal MP Mark Goldsworthy is running for re-election. The ALP is running Richard Hilton. The Greens are running Ian Grosser. Family First are running Darryl Stott.

• Darryl Stott (Family First)
• Richard Hilton (Labor)
• Ian Grosser (Greens)
• Mark Goldsworthy (Liberal)

Assessment
Kavel is a very safe Liberal seat.

2010 result

2010 two-party-preferred result

Booth breakdown
Booths have been divided into four parts. Polling places in the Adelaide Hills have been divided into west and north. Polling places in Mount Barker council area have been split between those in the town itself, and those outside the town as ‘east’. The largest proportion of the electorate is in the town of Mount Barker.

The Liberal Party won large majorities in all four areas, ranging from 61.6% in the east to 70% in the west.

The Greens came third in the seat in 2010, with a vote of 11.4%-11.5% in the west and north, and 13.4%-13.5% in the east and Mount Barker.