Seat of the week: Fremantle

There have been suggestions that the electorate of John Curtin might be lost to Labor at the next election as part of a statewide conservative sweep, although they have faded with Labor’s recent improvement in the polls.

The electorate of Fremantle covers Perth’s coastal southern suburbs from North Fremantle south to Henderson. It extends only a short distance eastwards along the southern bank of the Swan River to Bicton, Liberal-voting riverfront territory beyond being accommodated by Tangney, while going deep inland as far as Jandakot and Banjup further to the south. Liberal support is strongest along the riverfront, in the Jandakot/Banjup area, and in recently developed Port Coogee south of the city. The Greens polled between 25% and 30% in the Fremantle city booths in 2010, reflecting a strength of support that allowed Adele Carles to win the state seat for the party at a by-election in April 2009. However, their competitiveness in the federal seat is curtailed by the more traditionally working-class complexion of the suburbs further south.

The electorate of Fremantle has existed in name since federation, with the entirety of the Perth metropolitan area being divided between it and Perth until parliament was expanded in 1949. Only then did the port city and its surrounds sufficiently dominate the seat to allow Labor to secure its hold. John Curtin became the member in 1928 after unseating independent incumbent William Watson, who recovered it at the 1931 election as the candidate of the United Australia Party. Curtin was back for the long haul in 1934 and succeeded Jim Scullin as Labor leader the following year, although he survived in Fremantle by only 641 votes at the 1940 election.

After leading the country through the sharp end of the war years, Curtin became only the second prime minister to die in office in July 1945. Fremantle was retained for Labor at the ensuing by-election by Kim Beazley Senior and remained a home for high-profile Labor figures thereafter: Keating government Treasurer John Dawkins succeeded Beazley upon his retirement in 1977, and former Premier Carmen Lawrence in turn assumed the seat when Dawkins quit in 1994. Fremantle was the only WA seat left standing for Labor after the twin disasters of 1975 and 1977, but it was overtaken by Perth as Labor’s strongest seat in WA at the 2010 election, by which time the statewide tide to the Liberals had worn the margin in Fremantle down to 5.7%.

Fremantle has been held since Carmen Lawrence’s retirement in 2007 by Melissa Parke, a former United Nations human rights lawyer factionally aligned with the Left. Parke has thus far been overlooked for promotion, but made headlines over the past term after criticising the government’s “Malaysia solution” and decision to resume live cattle exports to Indonesia. As one report put it, Parke was “widely believed” to have voted for Kevin Rudd when he challenged for the leadership in February 2012.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

830 comments on “Seat of the week: Fremantle”

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  1. That’s great My Say.
    I reckon you’ve got Abbott’s measure!
    Take him down now.

    Email bay doors open! Fire!
    Take that Monkey!
    Take that biased media!

    Now, off to invade Mars.
    So it goes.

  2. DTD – I’m not a go out person. I like home.

    The old Belcononen Way or worse Blind Beggars were familiar but these days a visit to the shops and a drink at home.

  3. LOL
    Fess said Latika!

    I’ve already said Latika 3 times (counting that one there) so I win!

    New genus discovered: Latika trollus blugarius

  4. My OH has bought the hard copy of fhe Herald sun. Obviously most of the first 10 pages are reporting on the dreadful massacre in the US. Cant bear to even read it to be honest. Young people cut down mercilessly is just to horrible to bear.

    Sam Makden has written about the Slipper saga. See if I can find it online

  5. @CraigEmersonMP @vanOnselenP @AlboMP Emmo, Nielsen Poll has probably done its field work. So it’s OK now to mention #AshbyGate

    Step 1: Nielsen this week. 2. Dont mention #AshbyGate by #MSM 3. If Nielsen is bad for ALP eg 54-46 4. #MSM “See punters DGAF on #Ashby” You know i make sense

  6. BW – Bugger all rain. I dumped 5mm out of the gauge during an earlier appearance here.

    On fi, Thank God.

    Looks like warm is on. Blooddy weather/climate whichever.

    Hungover in Scullin OUT.

  7. fess,

    The situation is heart breaking.

    However, the courage and bravery of the teachers caught in those dreadful moments is inspiring.

  8. victoria
    Albo did well on Agenda. It’s well worth watching the replay. The first topic was news that Warren Entsch knew all about Slipper/Ashby. This lead to Albo saying the government is certainly looking at an enquiry of some sort. They won’t say more yet, they want to get everything absolutely right before they do it.

    A lot of discussion about what the feds have done on infrastructure and a lot on the NSW government’s lies about there never being 50/50 funding for the Pacific Highway with Albo giving some perinent facts about Howard starting up th 50/50 funding and the current O’Farrell mob supporting it countless times, on the record, until earlier this year.

    There was more, and the panel afterwards was pretty good too, with a bit of discussion about Abbott’s lack of policies. The panel is always better when Kelly doesn’t get the gig.

    The panel mentioned Abbott’s aggression with Cheryl Kernot saying it didn’t appeal to women. John Debenham said he too had had to be aggressive during his one and only election campaign and had had to wear the consequences. I suppose he meant losing. Funny, I don’t remember him being ‘aggressive’, if he was then his ‘aggression’ would make that legendary wet lettuce leaf look like Rambo in comparison.

  9. I cant find Maiden’s article online

    It is in the Sunday comment section on page 71

    Last sentences are interesting

    [Letters have now been sent by the AFP to relevant parties seeking further information]

  10. Thanks leone. Appreciate the feedback.

    I should also mention that the hard copy of the Herald Sun has an article on page 16

    WHIP TIPPED OFF ON SLIPPER CASE.

    It goes on to say that Warren Entsch was told about the Slipper case before it was splashed across the papers.

    Again I cant find it online.

  11. GG

    It should be available online. Most of the stuff that is in the hard copy is online now. I must be looking in all the wrong places!!

  12. My food discovery of the week.
    Meredith Dairy (Vic) makes the most heavenly fresh goat’s cheese that does not taste of musty goat.
    After years of avoiding goat products, I’m a convert.

    Lunch yesterday: fresh figs, with white peaches and raspberries soaked in tokay and dark brown sugar, and goat’s cheese. Swooning.

  13. Confessions

    My daughter is due to go to New York in just over two weeks. She will then be travelling to other major cities including LA. It makes me anxious to think of all the guns and unstable people who have them in that country.

    The fact that little children have been slaughtered, is just too hard to comprehend.

    I know the basics of what happened, and I cant bear to see the images of those who have been slaughtered. It is truly heartbreaking.

  14. Yuk!
    [david ewart ‏@davidbewart
    “@rupertmurdoch: Great visit with the editors in Melbourne today. Terrific professionals.@ pic.twitter.com/uyg1ty7t” ]

  15. If Nielsen is “bad” for Labor, There’ll be #TheirABC & #MSM blazing headlines: “Punters dont give a fuck on #Ashbygate” u know i make sense

  16. GG

    I remember that now. Abbott’s weasel words have been that he had no specific knowledge. Well he had better tell us what he did know and when.

  17. SK

    Has started hashtag #LNPConspiracy and #AbbottsTenHoursofBullshit to post under.

    I myself prefer the LNP conspiracy as the ten hour one is just for the Sortius expose on metadata and is just one part of the conspiracy.

  18. leone:

    Thanks for that. Will make an effort to watch Agenda when it’s replayed.

    Heartening to hear that the govt is considering an inquiry.

  19. The finns

    Barely a week left until xmas. The punters are already switched off. Good polls or not.

    As long as the govt is putting in place the foundations with which to attack Abbott and his cronies early next year, all will be good

  20. victoria:

    A few years ago I went to Chicago to a conference. I found the place truly scary. They have a police type culture which is very unsettling.

  21. What the hell is a ‘Guru Meditation’? It keeps swallowing my posts! And they don’t contain any controversial sentiments or nasty words either!

    :angry: 😡

  22. [Abbott’s weasel words have been that he had no specific knowledge.]
    He admits that “everyone” knew about Slipper’s problems and is trying to kid us that that was all he knew.

    In my view the specific knowledge he is denying is not who was involved or what they were up to, just ‘specifically’ who spoke to whom and exactly what they said.

    He’s a practised liar, after all, and bludgers know it.

  23. Thanks for relaying Albo comments on Sky.
    Glad to confirm that the ALP are not what Rosemour keeps trying to say they are

    This mean months of expose of LNP party dirty tricks smear campaign during an election year. In courts.

    Thats gotta hurt.

  24. as per the article by Sam Maiden, the AFP are investigating. Exactly what who knows. But we can assume that it may probably involve the obtaining of Slipper’s diary without permisison.

    No matter what the fibs say, Brough is in real trouble. Abbott has endorsed him and so have other Liberals, at their own peril. This saga still has a way to go.

  25. C@tmomma

    “Guru meditation” appears on my screen whenever Crikey is sulking. I suspect it’s a geek joke for “not responding” but would be quite interested to know!

  26. DTD – I’m still and as always trying to catch-up.

    Of course you mean the Labor Club.

    Been there once – short ‘small’ indulgence story follows:

    The work Christmas Party was at the Jammo (Yep we were a class act).

    After something to eat and 15 schooners a really cute redhead I’d worked with a lot made a point of coming and sitting with me. She even talked to me.

    I’d managed to scab a ride with some one else but made it to the Labor Club where she was going later. I was too pissed to find her in there.

    On Monday morning I wondered about her being a little short with me.

    Some years later and a long way away I woke up one morning and thought !FUCK!

    Which part of that was too cryptic for me.

  27. [Federal police have been referred allegations Abbott suggested to Somlyay that if he stood aside for Brough he might secure future consideration for an overseas job.

    Letters have now been sent by the AFP to relevant parties seeking further information and it will be interesting to see whether or not this, too, ends up one of Brough’s dry gullies.]

    Interesting!

  28. confessions

    There are definitely a few angles to this sorry saga, and as ru said this goes beyond Slipper. It goes to the heart of the LNP.

  29. Mmmm…interesting!
    [Federal police have been referred allegations Abbott suggested to Somlyay that if he stood aside for Brough he might secure future consideration for an overseas job.

    Letters have now been sent by the AFP to relevant parties seeking further information and it will be interesting to see whether or not this, too, ends up one of Brough’s dry gullies.]

  30. You know what the saddest upshot of The Ashby Conspiracy is, IMHO?

    That the voters of Fisher are prepared to vote for a proven conspiratorial crook in Mal Brough anyway, despite the black and white evidence in front of them of his sleazy behaviour. 🙁

  31. lizzie@134,
    I suspect it’s a geek joke for “not responding”

    Well it’s not very funny! It swallows my posts and I can’t go back a page and retrieve them! 😀

  32. Lizzie, Victoria, Joe6pack, Gecko, CTar1,

    Thank you.

    Gecko, this Tuesday’s OzLotto is mine. All mine – but I will share with PBers.

    More seriously, if you are interested in trying to get Ming on the ouija board, come to my place. It was Menzies’ parents’ house where they lived for the last 30 years of their lives, and Ming himself possibly lived here for a couple of years circa 1917.

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