Two-Party-Preferred Statistics 1998
Western Australia
Western Australia was the most volatile state in the 1998 election. Half of the 14 electorates returned new members, an unprecedented turnover.
The ALP secured a statewide swing of 5.46% to lift its vote to 49.46%, within striking distance of an overall two-party-preferred majority, and recovering a lot of the ground lost in the 1996 election.
The ALP won 4 seats from the Liberal Party - Canning, Cowan, Stirling and Swan - giving it 7 of the 14 electorates in the State.
The Liberal Party regained Curtin and Moore from independent members. Allan Rocher (Curtin) and Paul Filing (Moore) had held those seats as Liberals until 1996 when they each stood as independents after losing Liberal Party pre-selection.
The Liberal Party also won Kalgoorlie from the Australia First member, Graeme Campbell. Campbell had held the seat as an ALP member since 1983, but lost pre-selection and won the 1996 election as an independent.
For the first time in his political career, Opposition Leader Kim Beazley could now claim to hold a safe seat, following a 12.29% swing to him in Brand.
Canning, Cowan, Stirling and Swan remain marginal seats for the ALP going into the 2001 election, although the attention is more likely to focus on Kalgoorlie and other Liberal-held seats such as Moore, Pearce and Tangney. The volatility shown in the 2001 Western Australian State election, where dissident Liberals, Greens and One Nation candidates polled strongly, will be of concern to the Liberal Party.
Two-Party-Preferred Statistics 1998
House of Representatives - Western Australia |
|---|
| No. |
Electorate |
% Swing To ALP
From 1996 |
ALP |
Coalition |
% Swing Required
To Lose In 2001 |
| 1 |
Brand |
11.44 |
62.29 |
37.71 |
12.29 |
| 2 |
Canning |
5.16 |
53.52 |
46.48 |
3.52 |
| 3 |
Cowan |
7.62 |
53.56 |
46.44 |
3.56 |
| 4 |
Curtin |
-0.06 |
36.72 |
63.28 |
13.28 |
| 5 |
Forrest |
7.21 |
43.12 |
56.88 |
6.88 |
| 6 |
Fremantle |
5.81 |
60.02 |
39.98 |
10.02 |
| 7 |
Kalgoorlie |
-2.80 |
47.90 |
52.10 |
2.10 |
| 8 |
Moore |
4.40 |
45.87 |
54.13 |
4.13 |
| 9 |
O'Connor |
6.02 |
34.86 |
65.14 |
15.14 |
| 10 |
Pearce |
8.29 |
44.70 |
55.30 |
5.30 |
| 11 |
Perth |
6.60 |
63.28 |
36.72 |
13.28 |
| 12 |
Stirling |
4.26 |
51.04 |
48.96 |
1.04 |
| 13 |
Swan |
6.33 |
52.70 |
47.30 |
2.70 |
| 14 |
Tangney |
5.96 |
44.10 |
55.90 |
5.90 |
|
TOTAL |
5.46 |
49.46 |
50.54 |
Source: Australian Electoral Commission publications
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