Geraldton – WA 2013

LIB 8.5%

Incumbent MP
Ian Blayney, since 2008.

Geography
The district of Geraldton covers the town of Geraldton and a small amount of rural areas around the town. The boundaries match the boundaries of the former City of Geraldton-Greenough which existed briefly from 2007 to 2011.

Redistribution
No change.

History
Geraldton has existed since 1890. The district was dominated by the Labor Party from 1917 to 1991. Since the 1991 by-election, the Liberal Party has won the seat at all but two elections.

Jeff Carr held the seat for Labor from 1974 until 1991. In 1991 he was dumped from the ministry, and resigned. The ensuing by-election was won by the Liberal Party’s Bob Bloffwitch.

Bloffwitch was re-elected in 1993 and 1996, and lost in a big swing to Labor candidate Shane Hill in 2001.

The 2008 redistribution expanded Geraldton to take in surrounding areas, and made the seat a notional Liberal seat. Hill was defeated by Liberal candidate Ian Blayney.

Candidates

• Shane Van Styn(Nationals)
• Paul Connolly (Greens)
• Ian Blayney (Liberal)
• Carmen Burdett (Australian Christians)
• Kathryn Mannion (Labor)

Assessment
Geraldton has a history of large swings throwing out the sitting member, but the seat is likely to stay in Liberal hands.

2008 result

2008 two-candidate-preferred result

Booth breakdown
The vast majority of the district’s population lies in the Geraldton urban area. Booths outside this area have been grouped as “east”, while booths in Geraldton itself have been split into Central and North.

The Liberal Party polled 35-36% in Geraldton and over 44% in the east. The Labor vote fell to 20.7% in the east, just ahead of the Nationals on 20.5%. Labor’s vote peaked at 30.1% in the southern parts of the Geraldton urban area.