LIB 13.2%
Incumbent MP
Tony Simpson, since 2008. Previously Member for Serpentine-Jarrahdale 2005-2008.
Geography
Eastern Perth. Darling Range is the outermost seat on the eastern edge of Perth, covering outer parts of Armadale, Kalamunda, Serpentine-Jarrahdale, Mundaring, Kwinana and Rockingham council areas.
The seat covers Pickering Brook, Karragullen, Roleystone, Bedfordale, Harrisdale, Byford, Darling Downs, Oakford, Mundijong, Serpentine, Jarrahdale, Malmalling and parts of Kelmscott and Mount Richon.
Redistribution
Darling Range gained areas at both ends of the seat, gaining a small area on its south-western boundary from Kwinana and Warnbro, and also expanding on its northern boundary to take in areas including Malmalling from Swan Hills. Darling Range lost an area on its northern boundary including Forrestdale and Piara Waters to Jandakot. These changes cut the Liberal margin from 15.3% to 13.2%.
History
The seat of Darling Range has existed since 1950, with the exception of a single term in the 1970s when it was briefly abolished. The seat was originally a Country Party seat but has been won by the Liberal Party at every election since 1962.
Ray Owen held the seat for the Country Party from 1950 to 1962, followed by Liberal MP Kenn Dunn until 1971.
In 1971, the Liberal Party’s Ian Thompson won the seat. In 1974, the seat was renamed Kalamunda, and Thompson moved to that seat. He stayed in that seat until it was abolished in 1989, despite Darling Range being restored in 1977.
George Spriggs won Darling Range in 1977, and was followed by Bob Greig in 1987.
In 1989, the seat of Kalamunda was abolished and Ian Thompson returned to Darling Range. He was re-elected, but in 1990 he resigned from the Liberal Party to sit as an independent, and retired in 1993.
John Day won Darling Range in 1993. He held the seat for the next fifteen years. In 2008, the redistribution moved much of Darling Range back into the restored seat of Kalamunda while a large part of the abolished seat of Serpentine-Jarrahdale was moved into Darling Range.
Day moved to Kalamunda, and Tony Simpson, who had won Serpentine-Jarrahdale in 2005, moved to Darling Range. Day became a minister in the Liberal/National government after the 2008 election, while Simpson became a minister after the 2013 election.
Candidates
- Craig Ballinger (Micro Business Party)
- Iwan Boskamp (Greens)
- Stuart Ostle (Shooters, Fishers and Farmers)
- Barry Urban (Labor)
- Manamal Froumis (Independent)
- Derek Bruning (Australian Christians)
- Jake Mccoull (Liberal Democrats)
- Sharon Polgar (One Nation)
- Tony Simpson (Liberal)
- Chris Barker (Flux)
Assessment
Darling Range is likely to stay in Liberal hands, unless there is a large swing to Labor.
2013 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Tony Simpson | Liberal | 13,454 | 57.9 | +9.7 | 55.8 |
| Barry Urban | Labor | 6,494 | 27.9 | -5.6 | 29.0 |
| Denise Hardie | Greens | 2,144 | 9.2 | -3.9 | 9.4 |
| Madeleine Goiran | Australian Christians | 1,154 | 5.0 | -0.2 | 4.9 |
| Others | 0.8 | ||||
| Family First | 0.1 | ||||
| Informal | 1,539 | 6.2 |
2013 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Redist |
| Tony Simpson | Liberal | 15,178 | 65.3 | +8.3 | 63.2 |
| Barry Urban | Labor | 8,065 | 34.7 | -8.3 | 36.8 |
Booth breakdown
Booths have been divided into three parts: central, north and south.
The Liberal two-party-preferred vote ranged from 58.6% in the north to 64% in the south.
The Greens came third, with a primary vote ranging from 7% in the south to 11.7% in the centre.
| Voter group | GRN % | LIB 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| South | 7.2 | 64.3 | 8,251 | 39.9 |
| Central | 11.7 | 63.2 | 6,896 | 33.3 |
| North | 9.9 | 58.6 | 1,325 | 6.4 |
| Other votes | 10.3 | 62.6 | 3,258 | 15.7 |
| Pre-poll | 8.9 | 63.2 | 972 | 4.7 |
Two-party-preferred votes in Darling Range at the 2013 WA state election