Electoral district of Churchlands
| Churchlands Western Australia—Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|
 Location of Churchlands (dark green) in the Perth metropolitan area | |
| State | Western Australia |
| Dates current | 1996–present |
| MP | Christine Tonkin |
| Party | Labor |
| Namesake | Churchlands |
| Electors | 29,084 (2021) |
| Area | 24 km2 (9.3 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Metropolitan |
| Coordinates | 31°56′S 115°47′E / 31.93°S 115.79°E |
Churchlands is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Churchlands is named for the western suburb of Churchlands, which falls within its borders, and was created at the 1994 redistribution, replacing the seat of Floreat which had existed since 1968.[1]
It was held for most of its history by Liz Constable, the independent former member for Floreat who had won the predecessor seat in a 1991 by-election. However, the seat's demographics suggested it was a strongly Liberal seat on paper, and it was taken for granted Constable would be succeeded by a Liberal once she retired. Constable retired at the 2013 election, and was succeeded as expected by Liberal Sean L'Estrange. L'Estrange held the seat until his unexpected defeat by Christine Tonkin in 2021.
Demographics
[edit]Churchlands and the neighbouring electorates of Nedlands to the southeast and Cottesloe to the southwest comprise the affluent western suburbs of Perth—the Australian Bureau of Statistics's SEIFA index (2001) ranked them as the highest three electorates by socio-economic status in Western Australia, with high scores on educational and employment opportunity. At the 2006 census, the median individual income in the Churchlands electorate, based on its 2005 boundaries, was $607 per week compared to $513 in the Perth metropolitan area, and the median weekly household income was $1,115 compared to $1,086 across Perth. 45.4% of the population were professionals or managers.[2]
All three seats were considered comfortably safe Liberal seats, until the 2021 state election, and they are almost entirely within the federal seat of Curtin, which was safe Liberal as well until teal independent Kate Chaney won it in 2022.
Members for Churchlands
[edit]| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liz Constable | Independent | 1996–2013 | |
| Sean L'Estrange | Liberal | 2013–2021 | |
| Christine Tonkin | Labor | 2021–present | |
Election results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Sean L'Estrange | 11,087 | 43.9 | −9.2 | |
| Labor | Christine Tonkin | 9,938 | 39.4 | +15.8 | |
| Greens | Mark Twiss | 2,640 | 10.5 | −3.6 | |
| Independent | Jim Bivoltsis | 714 | 2.8 | −1.3 | |
| Christians | Ray Moran | 394 | 1.6 | −0.5 | |
| No Mandatory Vaccination | L. Pearce | 320 | 1.3 | +1.3 | |
| WAxit | Alexandra Farsalas | 146 | 0.6 | −0.9 | |
| Total formal votes | 25,239 | 97.5 | +0.7 | ||
| Informal votes | 650 | 2.5 | −0.7 | ||
| Turnout | 25,889 | 89.0 | +0.1 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Christine Tonkin | 12,821 | 50.8 | +12.5 | |
| Liberal | Sean L'Estrange | 12,413 | 49.2 | −12.5 | |
| Labor gain from Liberal | Swing | +12.5 | |||
References
[edit]- ^ "Electoral Distributions Act 1947 - Division of the State into Six Electoral Regions and 57 Electoral Districts by the Electoral Distribution Commissioners". Western Australia Government Gazette. 28 November 1994. p. 1994:6135-6327.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Community Profile Series: Churchlands (North Metropolitan) (State Electoral Division)". 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
* Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Community Profile Series: Perth (Statistical Division)". 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 5 August 2008. - ^ 2021 State General Election – Churchlands District Results, WAEC
External links
[edit]- Electorate profile (Antony Green, ABC)