| Adelaide |
Division of Aston | Ballarat |
 Hon Chris Pearce (Lib) His electorate website |  |
Location: Melbourne: Knox, Scoresby, Vermont, Wantirna Division named for: Tilly Aston, blind writer and teacher Median weekly family income: $1,184 (22nd highest) Persons born in non English speaking countries: 18.5% (39th highest) Persons in professional occupations: 25.5% (73rd highest) Persons aged 65 and over: 8.6% (128th highest) Couple families with dependent children: 48.1% (8th highest) Dwellings being purchased: 40.2% (11th highest) Sitting member: Hon Chris Pearce (Liberal), elected 2001 by-election, 2001, 2004, 2007 Born: 1 March 1963, Lismore NSW. Career: Company executive, managing director. Councillor, Knox City Council 1997-2000. Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer 2004-07 Shadow Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law from 22 September 2008 1996 two-party majority: Liberal 05.6 1998 two-party majority: Liberal 04.2 2001 by-election two-party majority: Liberal 00.6 2001 two-party majority: Liberal 06.2 Effect of 2004 redistribution: 00.1 shift to Labor 2004 two-party majority: Liberal 13.2 2007 two-party majority: Liberal 05.1 
2004 enrolment: 88,549 2007 enrolment: 91,766 (+03.6%) Aston was created in 1984, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, centred on the fast-growing City of Knox and new wealthy areas such as Wantirna and Vermont. It has a very high proportion of families with dependent children and dwellings being purchased, indications of traditional families paying high mortgages. This is a high-income mortgage belt suburb, without the high concentration of people in professional occupations that marks wealthy seats closer to the city centre. These factors explain why Aston changed from a marginal seat in the 1980s to the safest Liberal seat in metropolitan Melbourne in 2004, when the Liberals carried every booth. Aston's first member, John Saunderson (Labor - he had previously been member for Deakin 1983-84) was defeated in 1990 by Peter Nugent (Liberal), and the seat has got steadily better for the Liberals since. Nugent died in 2001 and was succeeded by Chris Pearce, who has held the seat since. Pearce was a parliamentary secretary in the last term of the Howard government, and returned to the frontbench in opposition when Malcolm Turnbull became Liberal leader. At the 2007 election Aston produced an 8% swing back to Labor (despite Labor's very late selection of a candidate), making it once again a marginal seat. Every booth swung to Labor, most by more than 6%. Despite the swing, the Liberals won most booths, with more than 60% of the two-party vote at Flamingo and Lysterfield. Labor polled 52% at Parkmore and over 50% at Mountain Gate, Studfield East and two booths in Bayswater. | | 
Two-party vote by booth, 2007
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