Electoral district of Darling Range

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Darling Range is an Electoral district of Western Australia. As in other districts, the Darling Range district elects a single person to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. The elected person is then known as the Member for Darling Range, and is said to hold the seat of Darling Range. As of 2001, the Member for Darling Range is John Day who holds the seat for the Liberal Party by a margin of 3.1%. The seat in 2009 is expected to be retained by the Liberal Party.

[edit] Profile

Lower Darling Range suburbs in a line generally east of Perth Airport and the Tonkin Highway, south of the Helena River and north of the Brookton Highway. It includes parts of Maida Vale and Gooseberry Hill, along with Forrestfield, Kalamunda, Lesmurdie, Walliston, Carmel, Pickering Brook and parts of Wattle Grove and Roleystone. The electorate covers 495 km².

[edit] History

Darling Range has existed for all but one term since 1950, and has always been won by the non-Labor Parties. It was a Country Party seat until 1962, then a Liberal Party seat, though former Liberal MP Ian Thompson finished his last term in 1993 as an Independent. Current sitting MP and then Health Minister John Day came perilously close to defeat in 2001. The Liberal primary vote fell by 18.8%, Liberals for Forests polling 10.4%, One Nation 9.8% and the Greens 8.2%. After preferences, Day trailed by 76 votes in votes cast on the day, but pulled ahead to win by 137 votes after the counting of the declaration vote.