Electoral district of Northcote
| Northcote Victoria—Legislative Assembly |
|
|---|---|
| State or territory: | Victoria |
| Created: | 1927 |
| MP: | Fiona Richardson |
| Party: | Australian Labor Party |
| Electors: | 40,423 (2010) |
| Area: | 21 km² (8 sq mi) |
| Demographic: | Metropolitan |
The Electoral district of Northcote is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It currently covers the suburbs of Alphington, Fairfield, Northcote, Thornbury, and part of Preston. It lies on the northern bank of the Yarra River between the Merri and Darebin creeks.
The seat has had only five members since its creation in 1927. It most famous member is former Premier John Cain while Northcote was also the seat for former state Labor leader Frank Wilkes.
Former ABC newsreader Mary Delahunty was elected in an 1998 by-election. As the electorate was safe for the Labor Party, the Liberals declined to nominate a candidate. However, partly due to the presence of a One Nation candidate, the Liberals took the unusual step of actively campaigning for the Australian Democrats, issuing a 'How to Vote Liberal' card which advocated voting Democrat, and then Premier Jeff Kennett also wrote to voters urging them to vote Democrat.[1]
While the law has since been changed stopping party campaigning directly for other parties, the fact the seat is safe for Labor has meant Liberals have often run dead allowing other parties, like the Greens in 2002, to become the main challengers to Labor.
Members for Northcote
| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Cain | Labor | 1927–1957 | |
| Frank Wilkes | Labor | 1957–1988 | |
| Tony Sheehan | Labor | 1988–1998 | |
| Mary Delahunty | Labor | 1998–2006 | |
| Fiona Richardson | Labor | 2006–present |
Election results
| Victorian state election, 2010: Northcote | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labor | Fiona Richardson | 15,917 | 44.94 | -7.63 | |
| Greens | Anne Martinelli | 10,927 | 30.85 | +3.44 | |
| Liberal | Steve Moran | 6,863 | 19.37 | +4.08 | |
| Sex Party | Robert Bishop | 1,098 | 3.10 | +3.10 | |
| Independent | Darren Lewin-Hill | 404 | 1.14 | -0.39 | |
| Independent | Dominic Marino | 213 | 0.60 | +0.60 | |
| Total formal votes | 35,422 | 95.76 | +0.41 | ||
| Informal votes | 1,567 | 4.24 | -0.41 | ||
| Turnout | 36,989 | 91.50 | +0.97 | ||
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Fiona Richardson | 21,666 | 61.23 | +2.71 | |
| Greens | Anne Martinelli | 13,716 | 38.77 | -2.71 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | +2.71 | |||
