NAT 8.8% vs LIB
Incumbent MP
Mia Davies, since 2013.
Geography
Central Wheatbelt covers a large area to the east of Perth, covering Ballidu, Beacon, Beverley, Meckering, Merredin, Narembeen, Northam, Westonia, Wongan Hills, Wundowie, Wyalkatchem and York.
Redistribution
The boundaries of Central Wheatbelt were expanded, gaining Boddington, Pingelly and Wandering council areas from Wagin and Westonia and Yilgam council areas from Eyre. These changes increased the Nationals margin from 7.9% to 8.8%.
History
Central Wheatbelt was created for the 2008 election, after one-vote-one-value laws reduced the number of regional electorates. The seat was a merger of the previous seats of Avon and Merredin.
Merredin had been held by the Nationals since 1974, and Avon since 1986.
Max Trenorden had won the seat of Avon for the Nationals in 1986, succeeding Labor’s Ken McIvor. He held the seat until 2008, when he moved to the Legislative Council, representing the Agricultural region for one term until 2013.
The Nationals’ Hendy Cowan had represented Merredin since 1974 (the seat having a slightly different name in his first term), and retired in 2001. Cowan had served as leader of the Nationals from 1979 until 2001. He was succeeded at a by-election in 2001 by Brendon Grylls, who held the seat until its abolition in 2008. Grylls was elected leader of the Nationals in 2005.
Grylls won the new seat of Central Wheatbelt in 2008, and held it until 2013. He moved to the seat of Pilbara at the 2013 election. He stepped down as Nationals leader in late 2013 but returned to the job in 2016.
The Nationals’ Mia Davies won Central Wheatbelt in 2013. Davies had served one term representing the Agricultural region in the Legislative Council from 2009 until 2013. Davies became deputy leader of the Nationals in late 2013, and now serves as a minister in the Liberal/National government.
Candidates
- Shaun Reid (One Nation)
- Mia Davies (Nationals)
- Dennis Pease (Australian Christians)
- Estelle Gom (Independent)
- Gary Templeman (Labor)
- Bill Crabtree (Liberal)
- Audrey Foote (Greens)
- Diff Reynders (Shooters, Fishers and Farmers)
Assessment
Barring major shifts in support, Central Wheatbelt is a safe Nationals seat.
2013 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Mia Davies | Nationals | 8,414 | 43.6 | -5.9 | 44.6 |
| Stephen Strange | Liberal | 6,088 | 31.5 | +6.6 | 31.1 |
| John Watters | Labor | 3,375 | 17.5 | +1.5 | 16.9 |
| Tricia Walters | Greens | 637 | 3.3 | -2.2 | 3.5 |
| Gerald Sturman | Independent | 474 | 2.5 | +2.5 | 2.2 |
| Bob Adair | Australian Christians | 328 | 1.7 | -1.5 | 1.7 |
| Informal | 1,076 | 5.3 |
2013 two-candidate-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Mia Davies | Nationals | 11,168 | 57.9 | -10.9 | 58.9 |
| Stephen Strange | Liberal | 8,110 | 42.1 | +10.9 | 41.1 |
2013 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Stephen Strange | Liberal | 13,729 | 71.1 | -0.2 | 71.5 |
| John Watters | Labor | 5,573 | 28.9 | +0.2 | 28.5 |
Booth breakdown
Booths have been divided into four parts.
The Nationals won the two-candidate-preferred vote over the Liberal Party in all four areas, ranging from 51% in the south-east to 62% in the south-west.
The Labor candidate came third, with a vote ranging from 8% in the south-east to 23% in the north-west.
| Voter group | ALP % | NAT 2CP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| North-West | 23.0 | 58.1 | 6,877 | 31.4 |
| South-West | 16.6 | 62.1 | 4,765 | 21.8 |
| North-East | 12.1 | 61.2 | 3,133 | 14.3 |
| South-East | 8.4 | 51.1 | 1,599 | 7.3 |
| Pre-poll | 16.4 | 59.5 | 1,020 | 4.7 |
| Other votes | 14.4 | 57.2 | 4,475 | 20.5 |
Election results in Central Wheatbelt at the 2013 WA state election
Click on the ‘visible layers’ box to toggle between two-candidate-preferred votes (Nationals vs Liberal) and Labor primary votes.