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| Australian federal election, 2016
Division of Curtin, Western Australia
Western Perth: Churchlands, Mount Hawthorn, Nedlands, Subiaco
Sitting member: Hon Julie Bishop (Liberal), elected 1998
Enrolment at close of rolls: 97,615
2013 Liberal majority over Labor: 17.7%
2016 notional Liberal majority over Labor: 18.2%
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Candidates in ballot-paper order:
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1. David Archibald
Australian Liberty Alliance |
2. Viv Glance
Australian Greens |
3. Melissa Callanan
Australian Labor Party |
4. Sandra Boulter
Independent |
5. Hon Julie Bishop
Liberal Party |
2013 results
Statistics and history
Curtin was created in 1949, based in Perth's western beachside suburbs. This is the most affluent part of Perth and the seat has never come close to electing a Labor member. Subsequent redistributions have extended the seat northwards into slightly less affluent areas, only slightly weakening the Liberal position. Curtin has among the country's highest median family incomes and highest levels of people in professional occupations. It is also an ageing area with a fairly high level of over 65s and a fairly low level of families with dependent children. It also has a high level of immigrants from the UK.
The first member for Curtin was Sir Paul Hasluck, Liberal foreign minister and later Governor-General. Alan Rocher, elected in 1981, resigned from the Liberal Party after being replaced as Liberal candidate for the 1996 election by Ken Court, the Premier's brother. He retained the seat as an independent, but was defeated in 1998.
Julie Bishop, Liberal MP for Curtin since 1998, was a barrister and solicitor before entering politics, and in 1998 was managing partner at Clayton Utz, a leading law form. She was a favourite of Prime Minister John Howard and was a senior minister in his government's last term. She was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party after the 2007 election defeat, and has retained the position ever since, under four successive Liberal leaders. Despite many media promptings, she has never sought the leadership herself. Her reward has been the plum post of Minister for Foreign Affairs, which she has held since 2013.
The 2016 redistribution has made Curtin even safer for the Liberal Party by removing marginal Leederville and Mt Hawthorn and replacing them with Liberal voting Innaloo. This will be a safe seat for Julie Bishop for as long as she wants. Labor's candidate in 2016 is Melissa Callanan, WA Manager of the Australian Writers' Guild.
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Prospective pendulum, showing all candidates
State and territory maps, showing new boundaries
The thirty seats that will decide the election
Other seats of interest
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