Polwarth
Margin: Liberal 13.8%
Region: Western Victoria
Federal: Corangamite (65%)/Wannon (35%)
Candidates in ballot paper order
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TERRY MULDER SIMON NORTHEAST PHILIP EDGE LIBBY COKER |
2010 BOOTH RESULTS MAP |
PAST RESULTS |
DEMOGRAPHICS |
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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.
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Polwarth covers over 100 kilometres of the Great Ocean Road coast west of Melbourne, from Bells Beach and Anglesea through Lorne, Apollo Bay and Cape Otway to Peterborough, and extends inland through 12,500 square kilometres of rural territory to encompass Colac and Camperdown. Party support is finely balanced in the Great Ocean Road centres, but the conservative nature of the remainder keeps the seat safe for the Liberals. The redistribution has affected it only slightly, adding 0.5% to the Liberal margin through small gains of territory from Ripon and Lowan in the north-west and South Barwon in the east, and the loss of 1250 voters in the north-east to Buninyong, formerly known as Ballarat East.
Labor has never held Polwarth through an uninterrupted history going back to 1889, and the seat has been in Liberal hands since it was won from the Country Party in 1949. The current member is Terry Mulder, former operator of a Barongarook cleaning business, who succeeded Ian Smith in 1999. Mulder rose to the shadow ministry in his first term, and put his name forward for the leadership when Robert Doyle relinquished it six months prior to the 2006 election. He dropped out to give Ted Baillieu a clear run, but continued to be named as a potential leader during intermittent bouts of speculation about Baillieu’s security in opposition. Nonetheless, Mulder was not rated as a contender to succeed Baillieu when he resigned as Premier in March 2013, and is rated a close ally of the man who did, his Western District colleague Denis Napthine. Since the 2010 election victory he has held the position of Public Transport and Roads Minister.