Electoral district of Murdoch
Encyclopedia
Murdoch was an electoral district
of the Legislative Assembly
in the Australia
n state of Western Australia
. It existed from 1977 to 1989 and again from 1996 to 2008.
Murdoch was named for Sir Walter Murdoch
, a prominent academic for whom Murdoch University
, which was located in the electorate, was also named. The district was regarded as a safe seat for the Liberal Party
, which held the seat for its entirety of two existences.
to the northeast, Fifth and Karel Avenues to the east, Hope Road to the south, North Lake Road to the west, and Leach Highway
to the northwest, and including an additional section between Riseley Street, Blue Gum Reserve and Bull Creek. Its boundaries included Murdoch University
, St John of God Hospital in Murdoch and the suburbs of Bateman
, Brentwood
, Bull Creek
, Murdoch
, North Lake
, Rossmoyne
and Winthrop
, along with Kardinya
east of North Lake Road, Leeming
west of Karel Avenue and small portions of Booragoon
and Mount Pleasant
.
The 2007 redistribution, which came into effect at the 2008 election
, saw the electorate replaced by the Bateman
electorate, which excluded sections of Murdoch south of South Street (including Murdoch University
) but added a small section at its northwest (Booragoon
south of Marmion Street and Myaree
east of North Lake Road).
. While initially thought to be reasonably safe for the Labor party
, major demographic change in the mid-1970s resulting from the creation of suburbs such as Bull Creek
and Leeming
on what had previously been swampy agricultural land, resulted in a relatively safe Liberal seat by the time of the election, and Barry MacKinnon easily won the seat. MacKinnon went on to become Leader of the Opposition
from 1986 until 1992, when he lost the leadership to Richard Court
and subsequently retired from politics.
The Murdoch electorate was largely replaced by the electorate of Jandakot
in the redistribution prior to the 1989 election
, but the change was reversed in the following redistribution which took effect at the 1996 election
. By this time, Mike Board had replaced MacKinnon as the member for the electorate. Board retired in 2005, and Trevor Sprigg
won the seat at the following election. However, following his death on 17 January 2008, a by-election was held on 23 February 2008 at which University of Western Australia
law lecturer Christian Porter
was elected.
Murdoch was abolished at the 2007 distribution, taking effect at the 2008 election
, largely replaced by the new seat of Bateman
.
Electoral districts of Western Australia
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly is elected from 59 single-member electoral districts. These districts are often referred to as electorates or seats....
of the Legislative Assembly
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....
in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n state of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It existed from 1977 to 1989 and again from 1996 to 2008.
Murdoch was named for Sir Walter Murdoch
Walter Murdoch
Emeritus Professor Sir Walter Murdoch, KCMG was a prominent Australian academic and essayist famous for his intelligence, wit, and humanity. He was a Founding Professor of English and former Chancellor of University of Western Australia in Perth. Murdoch University, also in Perth is named after him...
, a prominent academic for whom Murdoch University
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...
, which was located in the electorate, was also named. The district was regarded as a safe seat for the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
, which held the seat for its entirety of two existences.
Geography
At the time it was abolished, Murdoch was bounded by the Canning RiverCanning River (Western Australia)
The Canning River is a major tributary of the Swan River in south western Western Australia.-Source and route:With headwaters on the Darling Scarp, the Canning meanders through suburbs of Perth on the Swan Coastal Plain, including Cannington, Thornlie, Riverton, Shelley, Rossmoyne and Mount...
to the northeast, Fifth and Karel Avenues to the east, Hope Road to the south, North Lake Road to the west, and Leach Highway
Leach Highway
Leach Highway is a major dual carriageway arterial road in Perth, Western Australia, which varies between 4 and 6 lanes wide. The speed limit is either 70 or 80 km/h. It is located south of the Swan River and links Fremantle with Kewdale, a distance of ....
to the northwest, and including an additional section between Riseley Street, Blue Gum Reserve and Bull Creek. Its boundaries included Murdoch University
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...
, St John of God Hospital in Murdoch and the suburbs of Bateman
Bateman, Western Australia
Bateman is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville.It is a mostly residential suburb with convenient road access to Perth City, Fremantle, the main industrial sites and airports. Bull Creek railway station is located at its north-eastern corner...
, Brentwood
Brentwood, Western Australia
Brentwood is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville.It is named for Brentwood, an English town near London which was the birthplace of John Bateman, a pioneer settler in the area....
, Bull Creek
Bull Creek, Western Australia
Bull Creek is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the local government area of City of Melville.-History:The name was adopted by the City of Melville Council in December 1968. The creek was named after an early settler, Lt Henry Bull to whom a grant of 1.20 km² of nearby land...
, Murdoch
Murdoch, Western Australia
Murdoch is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville. Murdoch University and St John of God Hospital Murdoch are located in Murdoch, as will be the proposed Fiona Stanley Hospital. The suburb is named after Sir Walter Murdoch....
, North Lake
North Lake, Western Australia
North Lake is a suburb south of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and from the Indian Ocean. The suburb is located within the City of Cockburn local government area.-History:...
, Rossmoyne
Rossmoyne, Western Australia
Rossmoyne is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, within the City of Canning. Rossmoyne is located south of central Perth, and is bounded by Leach Highway to the south, the Bull Creek to the west, the Canning River to the north, and Shelley to the east....
and Winthrop
Winthrop, Western Australia
Winthrop is a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville.-History:Winthrop was originally a pine tree plantation owned by the University of Western Australia. The first blocks were sold in the early 1980s. After the first residents moved in, more blocks were...
, along with Kardinya
Kardinya, Western Australia
Kardinya is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville. The suburb is home to under 10,000 people, including international students and locals rent residences due to its proximity to Murdoch University and Murdoch College....
east of North Lake Road, Leeming
Leeming, Western Australia
Leeming is a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is divided between the tree Local Government Areas of the City of Melville, the City of Cockburn and the City of Canning...
west of Karel Avenue and small portions of Booragoon
Booragoon, Western Australia
Booragoon is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia located within the City of Melville.Booragoon is the aboriginal name for the lower reaches of the Canning River....
and Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, Western Australia
Mount Pleasant is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville on the Canning River.Mount Pleasant hosts the Head of the River Rowing event, as part of the Public Schools Association, an elite boys schools association in Perth....
.
The 2007 redistribution, which came into effect at the 2008 election
Western Australian state election, 2008
A general election was held in the state of Western Australia on Saturday 6 September 2008 to elect 59 members to the Legislative Assembly and 36 members to the Legislative Council...
, saw the electorate replaced by the Bateman
Electoral district of Bateman
The Electoral district of Bateman is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia.The district shares its name with the southern Perth suburb of Bateman, situated in the central part of the electorate...
electorate, which excluded sections of Murdoch south of South Street (including Murdoch University
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...
) but added a small section at its northwest (Booragoon
Booragoon, Western Australia
Booragoon is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia located within the City of Melville.Booragoon is the aboriginal name for the lower reaches of the Canning River....
south of Marmion Street and Myaree
Myaree, Western Australia
Myaree is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville. Myaree gets its name from an Aboriginal word meaning foliage....
east of North Lake Road).
History
The seat of Murdoch was established on 9 June 1976 in a redistribution under the Electoral Districts Act 1947, and was first contested at the 1977 state electionWestern Australian state election, 1977
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 19 February 1977 to elect all 55 members to the Legislative Assembly and 17 members to the 32-seat Legislative Council...
. While initially thought to be reasonably safe for the Labor party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
, major demographic change in the mid-1970s resulting from the creation of suburbs such as Bull Creek
Bull Creek, Western Australia
Bull Creek is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the local government area of City of Melville.-History:The name was adopted by the City of Melville Council in December 1968. The creek was named after an early settler, Lt Henry Bull to whom a grant of 1.20 km² of nearby land...
and Leeming
Leeming, Western Australia
Leeming is a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is divided between the tree Local Government Areas of the City of Melville, the City of Cockburn and the City of Canning...
on what had previously been swampy agricultural land, resulted in a relatively safe Liberal seat by the time of the election, and Barry MacKinnon easily won the seat. MacKinnon went on to become Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)
The Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties in the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the Legislative Assembly...
from 1986 until 1992, when he lost the leadership to Richard Court
Richard Court
Richard Fairfax Court AC , was a Western Australian politician, representing the seat of Nedlands in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party of Australia from 1982 to 2001. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001.Court was born into an old political...
and subsequently retired from politics.
The Murdoch electorate was largely replaced by the electorate of Jandakot
Electoral district of Jandakot
Jandakot is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia.The district is based in the southern suburbs of Perth and is named for the suburb of Jandakot. It also includes the suburbs of Atwell, Aubin Grove, Banjup, Leeming, Murdoch, North Lake and...
in the redistribution prior to the 1989 election
Western Australian state election, 1989
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 4 February 1989 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council...
, but the change was reversed in the following redistribution which took effect at the 1996 election
Western Australian state election, 1996
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 14 December 1996 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council...
. By this time, Mike Board had replaced MacKinnon as the member for the electorate. Board retired in 2005, and Trevor Sprigg
Trevor Sprigg
Trevor Sprigg was an Australian politician and legislator from Western Australia, as well as a former football star...
won the seat at the following election. However, following his death on 17 January 2008, a by-election was held on 23 February 2008 at which University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
law lecturer Christian Porter
Christian Porter
Charles Christian Porter is a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Bateman and is Treasurer and Attorney-General in the Liberal-National government. He entered Parliament after winning the seat of Murdoch in a by-election in 2008 following...
was elected.
Murdoch was abolished at the 2007 distribution, taking effect at the 2008 election
Western Australian state election, 2008
A general election was held in the state of Western Australia on Saturday 6 September 2008 to elect 59 members to the Legislative Assembly and 36 members to the Legislative Council...
, largely replaced by the new seat of Bateman
Electoral district of Bateman
The Electoral district of Bateman is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia.The district shares its name with the southern Perth suburb of Bateman, situated in the central part of the electorate...
.
Members for Murdoch
| First incarnation (1977–1989) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Term | |
| Barry MacKinnon | Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
1977–1989 | |
| Second incarnation (1996–2008) | |||
| Mike Board | Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
1996–2005 | |
| Trevor Sprigg Trevor Sprigg Trevor Sprigg was an Australian politician and legislator from Western Australia, as well as a former football star... |
Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
2005–2008 | |
| Christian Porter Christian Porter Charles Christian Porter is a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Bateman and is Treasurer and Attorney-General in the Liberal-National government. He entered Parliament after winning the seat of Murdoch in a by-election in 2008 following... |
Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
2008 | |
Results
External links
- Electorate Profile (Antony Green, ABC)