Electoral district of Albany
| Albany Western Australia—Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||
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Interactive map of district boundaries | |||||||||||||||
| State | Western Australia | ||||||||||||||
| Dates current | 1890–present | ||||||||||||||
| MP | Scott Leary | ||||||||||||||
| Party | Nationals | ||||||||||||||
| Namesake | Albany | ||||||||||||||
| Electors | 33,868 (2025) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 9,814 km2 (3,789.2 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Demographic | Provincial | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°40′S 117°47′E / 34.67°S 117.79°E | ||||||||||||||
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Albany is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Albany is named for the port and regional city of Western Australia which falls within its borders. It is one of the oldest electorates in Western Australia, with its first member having been elected in the inaugural 1890 elections of the Legislative Assembly. It is regarded as a swinging seat, and has been held by the Western Australian National Party since the 2025 election.
Geography
[edit]The electoral district of Albany, as of 2023, contains the entirely of the City of Albany, the Shire of Plantagenet (including the town of Mount Barker) and the Shire of Jerramungup. It also contains the areas of the Shires of Cranbook and Gnowangerup within the Stirling Range National Park.[1]
History
[edit]At the 2007 redistribution, the electoral district of Albany had the same boundaries as the City of Albany, including Albany and its suburbs, the nearby towns of Elleker, Kalgan, Lower King, Torbay.[2] This represented a significant expansion of its boundaries, in part due to the "one-vote one-value" electoral legislation which largely abolished malapportionment between country and metropolitan electorates in the Legislative Assembly. Prior to 2007, the electorate was largely limited to Albany and its suburbs—the additional sections were within the now abolished electorate of Stirling.[3]
By the 2015 redistribution, the electoral district of Albany contains the entirety of two local government areas: the City of Albany, and the Shire of Jerramungup.[4] The distribution in 2023 resulted in Albany expanding further to absorb the relatively populous but conservative-leaning Shire of Plantagenet.
Albany was held by the Labor Party since the 2001 election, at which Peter Watson was first elected. Watson announced his retirement prior to the 2021 election and was succeeded in the seat by Labor Party colleague, Rebecca Stephens.[5] Stephens held the seat for one term before losing the seat in the 2025 election to the Nationals WA challenger Scott Leary in a three-person competition.
Members for Albany
[edit]| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lancel de Hamel | Oppositionist | 1890–1894 | |
| George Leake | Oppositionist | 1894–1900 | |
| John Hassell | Oppositionist | 1900–1901 | |
| James Gardiner | Oppositionist | 1901–1904 | |
| Charles Keyser | Labor | 1904–1905 | |
| Ministerialist | 1905 | ||
| Edward Barnett | Ministerialist | 1905–1909 | |
| William Price | Labor | 1909–1917 | |
| Herbert Robinson | Nationalist | 1917–1919 | |
| John Scaddan | Nationalist | 1919–1920 | |
| Country | 1920–1923 | ||
| Country (MCP) | 1923–1924 | ||
| Arthur Wansbrough | Labor | 1924–1936 | |
| Leonard Hill | Country | 1936–1956 | |
| Jack Hall | Labor | 1956–1970 | |
| Wyndham Cook | Labor | 1970–1974 | |
| Leon Watt | Liberal | 1974–1993 | |
| Kevin Prince | Liberal | 1993–2001 | |
| Peter Watson | Labor | 2001–2021 | |
| Rebecca Stephens | Labor | 2021–2025 | |
| Scott Leary | National | 2025–present | |
Election results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Rebecca Stephens | 8,825 | 29.9 | −18.8 | |
| National | Scott Leary | 6,496 | 22.0 | +7.4 | |
| Liberal | Tom Brough | 6,451 | 21.8 | +4.8 | |
| Greens | Lynn MacLaren | 2,348 | 7.9 | +2.4 | |
| Independent | Mario Lionetti | 2,121 | 7.2 | +7.2 | |
| Christians | Gerrit Ballast | 1,504 | 5.1 | +0.4 | |
| One Nation | Quintin Bisschoff | 813 | 2.8 | +0.2 | |
| Legalise Cannabis | Philip Arnatt | 693 | 2.3 | +0.5 | |
| Shooters, Fishers, Farmers | Synjon Anstee-Brook | 311 | 1.1 | −1.3 | |
| Total formal votes | 29,562 | 96.6 | −0.0 | ||
| Informal votes | 1,050 | 3.4 | +0.0 | ||
| Turnout | 30,612 | 90.4 | +5.2 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| National | Scott Leary | 16,615 | 56.3 | +56.3 | |
| Labor | Rebecca Stephens | 12,914 | 43.7 | −17.3 | |
| National gain from Labor | |||||
References
[edit]- ^ Green, Antony. "Western Australia State Redistribution – Final Boundaries Released". Antony Green's Election Blog. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- ^ Western Australian Electoral Commission (29 October 2007). "2007 Electoral Distribution – Final Boundaries – South West Region – Albany". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
- ^ Western Australian Electoral Commission (4 August 2003). "2003 Electoral Distribution – Final Boundaries – - South West Region – Albany". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
- ^ "Districts in the Country Regions". Electoral Boundaries WA. Office of the Electoral Distribution Commissioners. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ Makse, Sarah (13 March 2021). "Historic moment as Albany gets first female MP". Albany Advertiser. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ 2025 State General Election – Albany District Results, WAEC. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
External links
[edit]- Electorate profile (Antony Green, ABC)