Electoral district of Kimberley

Kimberley Western Australia—Legislative Assembly
State	Western Australia
Dates current	1904–present
MP	Josie Farrer
Party	Labor
Namesake	Kimberley region
Area	419,078 km2 (161,806.9 sq mi)
Demographic	Mining and Pastoral

Kimberley is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the far north of the Australian state of Western Australia. The electorate has one of the highest Aboriginal enrolments of any seat in the Parliament.

The seat has been held by the Australian Labor Party since 1980 - inclusive of one term under a Labor Independent (1996 - 2001), but has become increasingly marginal in recent years. It saw an extremely close and almost unprecedented four-way race at the 2013 state election, with relatively small primary vote margins separating the Labor, Liberal, National and Green candidates in a result that was not known for several days. However, new Labor candidate Josie Farrer was able to hold the seat for Labor, winning the seat on Green preferences.

History

First created for the 1904 state election, the district was a combination of two former seats: East Kimberley and West Kimberley. Its first member, Francis Connor, was one of four independents who opted to support the Labor Party's minority government under Premier Henry Daglish. The government fell a year later, and a conservative member won the seat. It was then held for 19 years by non-Labor parties until a split in the Country Party saw Labor gain the seat at the 1924 state election. Labor held the seat continuously for 44 years until losing it to the Liberal Party at the 1968 state election.

The seat became the focus of controversy at the 1977 state election. A significant turnover in voters had occurred, with 1,750 voters including many Aboriginals being entitled to vote for the first time. The Labor Party endorsed Ernie Bridge, an Aboriginal businessman and president of the Shire of Halls Creek, against the sitting member, Liberal Minister for Lands Alan Ridge. Ridge won the vote but it was successfully challenged in the Court of Disputed Returns on 7 November due to claims of irregular treatment of Aboriginal voters at polling stations and various other concerns, and a by-election was called for 17 December 1977. However, Ridge won the vote on a decreased voter turnout and an increased majority.

At the 1980 state election, Ernie Bridge won the seat. In 1986, Bridge became a minister in the Labor government—the first Aboriginal cabinet minister in any Australian government. In 1996, Bridge resigned from the Labor Party and was re-elected at the 1996 state election as an independent before retiring at the 2001 state election. His successor was Carol Martin, the first Aboriginal woman elected to an Australian parliament.

Three out of four of the Indigenous Australians that have entered the Western Australian parliament have originated from this seat.

Geography

Named for the Kimberley region, the electorate is the state's northernmost. The district has a long coastline, being bounded by the Indian Ocean to its north and west. To the east, it is bounded by the Northern Territory border, whilst its southern boundaries are those of local government areas. The district includes four local government areas: Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley, Shire of Broome, Shire of Derby-West Kimberley, Shire of Halls Creek, all of them in their entirety. Its major population centres include Broome, Derby, Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek, Kununurra and Wyndham.

Members for Kimberley

Member		Party	Term
	Francis Connor	Independent	1904–1905
	Arthur Male	Ministerial	1905–1911
		Liberal (WA)	1911–1917
	Michael Durack	Nationalist	1917–1920
		Country	1920–1923
		Country (MCP)	1923–1924
	Aubrey Coverley	Labor	1924–1953
	John Rhatigan	Labor	1953–1968
	Alan Ridge	Liberal	1968–1980
	Ernie Bridge	Labor	1980–1996
		Independent	1996–2001
	Carol Martin	Labor	2001–2013
	Josie Farrer	Labor	2013–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Kimberley

Western Australian state election, 2013: Kimberley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Josie Farrer	3,030	26.7	-14.6
	Liberal	Jenny Bloom	2,924	25.7	-0.3
	Greens WA	Chris Maher	2,664	23.5	+10.1
	WA Nationals	Michele Pucci	2,085	18.4	+0.1
	Independent	Rod Ogilvie	499	4.4	+4.4
	Christians	Craig Simons	158	1.4	+1.4
Total formal votes			11,360	94.0	-1.5
Informal votes			595	6.0	+1.5
Turnout			11,955	73.0	+11.0
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Josie Farrer	6,255	55.1	-1.7
	Liberal	Jenny Bloom	5,100	44.9	+1.7
	Labor hold		Swing	-1.7

External links

• ABC Election Profiles: 2005 2008
• WAEC District Maps: 1996–2005 2005–2008 2008–