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| Australian federal election, 2016
Division of Cowan, Western Australia
Northern Perth: Ballajura, Beechboro, Girrawheen, Wanneroo
Sitting member: Luke Simpkins (Liberal), elected 2007
Enrolment at close of rolls: 96,251
2013 Liberal majority over Labor: 7.5%
2016 notional Liberal majority over Labor: 4.5%
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Candidates in ballot-paper order:
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1. Luke Simpkins
Liberal Party |
2. Jamie Chester
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers |
3. Neil Hamilton
Liberal Democratic Party |
4. Sheridan Young
Australian Greens |
5. Rex Host
Australian Christians |
6. Steve Veness
Mature Australia |
7. Anne Aly
Australian Labor Party |
2013 results
Statistics and history
Cowan was created in 1984, occupying a block of Perth's rapidly expanding northern suburbs. It is a typical mortgage belt seat, with the second-highest of proportion of dwellings being purchased of any electorate, and a high proportion of families with dependent children. Like all the Perth seats, it also has a large number of immigrants from the UK, and also a fairly large number from non English speaking countries. The strongest Labor vote is in the south of the seat, in suburbs around its stronhgold of Girrawheen, while the Liberal strength is in the more westerly suburbs such as Wanneroo.
Graham Edwards, a former WA state minister who lost both legs in the Vietnam War, won Cowan in 1998, and held it largely on his personal status. When he retired in 2007 the Liberal Luke Simpkins won the seat, despite the swing to Labor elsewhere. He increased the Liberal majority in both 2010 and 2013.
Luke Simpkins, Liberal MP for Cowan since 2007, was an Australian Army officer for 14 years, and later a secrity consultant and a ministerial adviser. Despite his success in building the Liberal majority in Cowan, he has not gained promotion in Canberra.
The 2016 redistribution has removed a block of Liberal suburbs around Kingsley and Woodvale, and replaced it with solid Labor territory at Beechboro and Kiara, formerly in the seat of Perth. The result has been to reduce the Liberal margin from 7.5% to 4.5%. Given recent strong polling by Labor in WA, this brings Cowan within the range of possible Labor gains.
Labor's candidate is Dr Ann Azza Aly, an Egyptian-born Professorial Research fellow at Edith Cowan University and an expert on Islamic extremism who has been prominent in media debate.
These maps are the property of Adam Carr and may not be reproduced without his permission.
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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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