Seat of the week: Melbourne Ports

Labor’s century-long hold on this inner southern Melbourne seat has never really looked threatened, despite being transformed by gentrification over the past few decades.

NOTE: Poll Bludger will be closed for comments for two weeks from December 25 to January 7 inclusive.

Melbourne Ports covers Bayside inner Melbourne from the mouth of the Yarra through Port Melbourne and Albert Park to St Kilda, further jutting inland in the south to take in Elsternwick. The redistribution to take effect at the next election will transfer 9000 voters in Elsternick and Caulfield South south of Glen Huntly Road to Goldstein, increasing the Labor margin from 7.6% to 7.9%. Melbourne Ports has the largest Jewish community of any electorate in Australia, accounting for 12.8% of the local population, and ranks at or near the top for numbers of Poles, Russians and Hungarians. It also has the second lowest proportion of Christians after its northern neighbour, Melbourne.

Labor’s greatest source of strength in the electorate is around St Kilda, where booths results in 2010 typically had Labor in the high thirties, the Greens on or around 30%, and the Liberals in third place in the mid-twenties. At the city end of the electorate, encompassing Port Melbourne, South Melbourne and Albert Park, green-left inner-city tendencies are counterbalanced by wealthy Liberal-voting elements. The strongest areas for the Liberals are in the east of the electorate, both around South Yarra in the north and Caulfield in the south, where the suburbs begin to take on the character of the electorate’s safe Liberal neighbour, Higgins.

Melbourne Ports was once noted for its preponderance of waterfront workers and generally working class voter base, and was accordingly very safe for Labor for most of its history. It has since transformed into the tenth wealthiest electorate in the country, a process which has considerably worn down Labor’s margin. The seat has nonetheless been extremely stable over the past two decades, recording essentially no swing at all at the consecutive elections of 1996, 1998 and 2001, a 2.0% swing to the Liberals in 2004, and swings to Labor of 3.4% in 2007 and 0.4% in 2010. The 2004 election proved Labor’s low water mark to date, the margin falling to 3.7%.

Labor has held the seat without interruption since 1906, with only five members serving over that time: James Matthews until 1931; Ted Holloway, a Curtin-Chifley government minister who moved to Melbourne Ports after unseating Prime Minister Stanley Bruce in Flinders two years earlier, until 1951; Frank Crean, Whitlam government Treasurer and father of Simon, until 1977; Clyde Holding, who came to the seat after a long and unproductive spell as state Opposition Leader, until 1998; and the incumbent, Michael Danby.

A member of the Right sub-faction associated with Stephen Conroy and Bill Shorten, Michael Danby’s pre-parliamentary career included stints as editor of the Australia-Israel Review, staffer to Hawke government minister Barry Cohen and industrial officer for the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association. He is frequently in the news as a supportive voice for Israel, most recently after the Prime Minister was prevailed upon to have Australia support observer status for the Palestinian territories at the United Nations. Although occasionally mentioned as a candidate for promotion, he is yet to achieve a position more senior than Opposition Whip, which he held between 2001 and 2007.

The preselected Liberal candidate for the second electorate running is Kevin Ekendahl, a manager at non-profit social enterprises organisation Try Australia.

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.

2,987 comments on “Seat of the week: Melbourne Ports”

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  1. laughing, Shows, I have never stopped laughing!

    …well ever since you made a fool of yourself last week when I pointed out to you that Gillard supported turning back the boats.

    Ouch 🙂

  3. [My understanding has always been that democracy is the contest of ideas, not ad homimen/feminem insults, or other puerile behaviour.]
    DEMOCRACY comes from GREEK!

    DEMOS = PEOPLE
    KRATIA = WILL

    Will of the People

    But it can also be interpreted as:

    DEMOS = MOB
    KRATIA = RULE

  11. 😆 Mib (I having to be inventive now seeing as you won’t, as you fully agreed, to change your name).

    The Walrus? I recall clearly, you, enthusiastically running around in your scanties, helping with the lights.

  12. I must watch PMJG’s Xmas message later. My sons didn’t want me to spend much money on them, so I went to the Afghan grocrey store and got a range of goods. Spice sachets for Indian dishes, some peanuts with lots of spices of which the main is chillu, sesame biscuits, packets of savoury nibbles which seem to have lots of spices.

    They like their curries and hot spicy stuff. Let’s see how this lot fixes them.

    I made a chicken dish once with a packet of that spice mix. The picture on the box showed some nice chicken pieces in this tomatoey creamy sauce on rice. I cooked the chicken recipe, tipped the sachet in and tasted it.

    Saturn Venus and Mars! I nearly had 3rd degree burns on my tongue from the chilli. I raced straight the Foodland supermarket for a couple of litres of greek yoghurt, tinned tomatoes and anything else I could think of to save it.

    I had to cook my Mum something else, and I valiantly ate my serve of whatever hadn’t dissolved the bottom of the stainless steel pot. It tasted good, or at least my two remaining taste buds thought so.

    I never had my tonsils out, but I reckon the buggers are gone now.

    I gave the rest to my middle son, who rang me up and said it was as hot as Hell, but could I make some more.

    I couldn’t remember what I put in it. I was too busy cleaning the dishes with a fire-hose.

  13. Confessions if you are still around you have a great Christmas, neighbors just left am hoping to get a couple of hours sleep in before the grandsons tell me it is time to get up to see what “Santa” has brought them, they have tracked him on the computer was in Wellington NZ about 10 minutes ago, good cue to go to bed! Night all

  14. GrimTidings@2715


    Merry Xmas Bludgers.

    From a (mostly) dedicated lurker for most of the last 2 years – your insights, be they uncannily accurate or a complete misfire, have always been welcome.

    I frequent this place more than any other media & like it or not, you all have assumed the mantle of minor celebrity status amongst a growing core of consumers. I for one welcome my new media overlords in the titanic battle ahead in 2013. May Poll Bludger reign supreme in the new year!

    Although I’m nervous re the coming year of politics, your contributions are invaluable in that I know I won’t be making the journey alone.

    So, best wishes to all who contribute (or like me, skulk) for the new year – & see you on the flip side!

  15. [as you fully agreed]

    Huh?

    [The Walrus? I recall clearly, you, enthusiastically running around in your scanties, helping with the lights.]

    Huh #2?

  16. Merry Xmas and a safe and prosperous New Years to all.

    I am staying around till midnight but which at midnight are the lights being turned out.

  17. Merry Xmas before William pushes the big red button.

    Cheers!

    And may Santa bring you all that you desire – even a sensible Liberal policy for you ML 🙂

    Have fun!

  22. Not sure when Bilbo puts the ring on his finger and makes all of this disappear …. so I will wish everyone a Happy Festivus now.

    Thanks cud chewer: I will lookout for any LNP policies in the new year.

    Thanks GG: sentient being versus non-sentient being promises…Gold, just gold.

    Thanks Shows: insulting someone and then being shown to be wrong….delicious!

    Thanks William: best of luck with the thesis. I know what you are going through, hang in there it DOES END EVENTUALLY.

    See everyone in the lead up to the LNP landslide! Hehe 😉

  23. Lockdown approaches. With far more credence than the End of the World.

    William. Enjoy your time away. You are Mr Marvelous.

    Thank you, all the Bludgers.

    Merry Christmas to all. Thanks for every moment.

  27. Puff,

    [I couldn’t remember what I put in it. I was too busy cleaning the dishes with a fire-hose.]

    Well, apart from making me laff too much for me own good, what sort of fire-breathing dragon do you call yourself???

    I’m taking myself off to bed a bit before midnight our time because I want to listen to the Charpentier Messe de minuit pour Noël – one that I’ve been lucky enough to perform several times – but I hope to be awake if/when the world ends.

    Meantime, the best of Christmas wishes to you and yours.

  28. Thank you everyone and William for a enjoyable company all this year. It an honour to share the PB lounge with all of you. :kiss:

  29. CTar1,

    [ modlib – I, also, felt very sad for the poor walrus.

    You’re one, very, very sick piece of equipment.

    There, finally, managed to spit my disgust out. ]

    Have you been practicing with watermelon seeds too? 😉

  32. Did Mod Lib just piss off because someone pointed out she is wrong?

    That happens ALL the time!

    But I guess her excuse will be that she is working tomorrow!

  34. [Fiona 2745 That moniker of yours is going to your head. Less preaching please.]

    fiona’s doing fine.

    Save your remonstrating for those who really do do preaching and hectoring, like bemused.

  36. [But I guess her excuse will be that she is working tomorrow!]

    Actually I have the day off tomorrow….something about a kid of middle eastern appearance being born. Fine with me!

  38. [CTar1
    Posted Monday, December 24, 2012 at 11:30 pm | PERMALINK
    mod – I’m absolutely sure 13 dogs were involved also also also also. ]

    That is an incorrect use of sequential “also”s.

    Did you know I can put five “ands” in sequence in a sentence using correct grammar.

    Want to see?

  43. confessions@2784


    Fiona 2745 That moniker of yours is going to your head. Less preaching please.


    fiona’s doing fine.

    Save your remonstrating for those who really do do preaching and hectoring, like bemused.

    Projecting again…

  44. [Puff, the Magic Dragon.
    Posted Monday, December 24, 2012 at 11:36 pm | PERMALINK
    It is only 11.05 in SA.]

    in the 1970s?

    (Just kidding, I love SA….particularly the products of Clare Valley)

  46. Fess 2784 don’t tell me who or what I can post on. I’ll post what I like. if calling for tolerance and moderation is objectionable and upsets people, so be it.

  49. The wine is good, and they have some great food here. I was told there is not something like the Adelaide Markets in other cities. That can’t be right, can it?

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