Footscray
Margin: Labor 12.4%
Region: Western Metropolitan
Federal: Gellibrand (68%)/Maribyrnong (32%)
Candidates in ballot paper order
|
ROD SWIFT CATHERINE CUMMING KIM VU MARSHA THOMSON KEN BETTS |
2010 BOOTH RESULTS MAP |
PAST RESULTS |
DEMOGRAPHICS |
|
RESULTS MAP: Two-party preferred booth results from 2010 state election showing Liberal majority in blue and Labor in red. New boundaries in thicker blue lines, old ones in thinner red lines. Boundary data courtesy of Ben Raue of The Tally Room.
PAST RESULTS: Break at 1999 represents effect of the subsequent redistribution.
DEMOGRAPHICS: Based on 2012 census. School Leavers is percentage of high school graduates divided by persons over 18. LOTE is number identified as speaking language other than English at home, divided by total population.
|
The inner western Melbourne electorate of Footscray has existed since 1927, when it was recreated after a previous life from 1877 to 1904, and has been held by Labor without interruption since that time. The electorate is bounded to the east by the Maribyrnong River, from which it extends westwards through Maribyrnong and Footscray to the Western Ring Road. It ranks second after St Albans for number of Vietnamese speakers, accounting for 14.9% of the electorate’s population. The redistribution has extended it in the west to encompass Sunshine West, accounting for 11,000 voters who were formerly in Derrimut. This has been balanced by the loss of two areas to neighbouring electorates: Kingsville, Seddon and part of Yarraville, home to 7000 voters who go to Williamstown in the south, and 2500 voters in northern Sunshine, who go to the electorate’s newly created north-western neighbour St Albans.
Current member Marsha Thomson came to the seat upon the retirement of Bruce Mildenhall at the 2006 election, having previously served for two terms as member for the upper house province of Melbourne North. Thomson worked in various government and electorate office jobs before entering politics, spending the 1990s in the employment of Right faction chieftains Robert Ray and Stephen Conroy. She went straight into the Bracks ministry on entering parliament as Consumer Affairs and Small Business Minister, but was demoted to parliamentary secretary after the 2006 election due to her faction’s desire to accommodate up-and-comers Lisa Neville, James Merlino and Joe Helper, and moved to the back bench following the 2010 election defeat.