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| Adam Carr's Election Archive
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Victorian state election, 2018
Northcote District
Inner Melbourne: Alphington, Fairfield, Northcote, Thornbury
Federal seats: Part of Cooper (formerly
Batman)
Legislative Council: Northern Metropolitan Region
Local government areas: Parts of Darebin and Yarra
Enrolment 2014 election: 44,273
Enrolment 2018 election: 48,831 (up 10.3%)
Sitting member:
Lidia Thorpe (Greens): Elected 2017 by-election
2010 Labor majority over Greens: 10.7
2014 Labor majority over Greens: 6.0
2017 by-election Greens majority over Labor: 5.6
Status: Marginal Labor versus Greens
2014 results
2017 by-election results
Candidates
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John MacIsaac
Liberal Party |
Kat Theophanous
Australian Labor Party |
Lidia Thorpe
Australian Greens |
Lidia Thorpe (Australian Greens)
Bryony Edwards (Independent)
John McIsaac (Liberal Party)
Samuel Fink (Liberal Democrats)
Kat Theophanous (Australian Labor Party)
David Bramante (Animal Justice Party)
Franca Smarrelli (Fiona Patten's Reason Party)
Northcote District
Northcote was created in 1927, repacing the old seat of Jika Jika, which had covered most of the northern suburbs. Subsequent
redistrictings cut it back to the Northcote-Alphington area, which at that time and for many years after was a solidly working-class
area. Over recent decades, as manufacturing has moved out of the inner suburbs, and affluent professionals have moved in, the area
has changed radically. Northcote is now at the heart of the inner northern suburbs "hipster belt" and is one Melbourne's most
affluent areas.
Northcote was held for its first 30 years by John Cain (or John Cain senior as he is now known). Cain was Leader of the
Victorian Labor Party for 20 years ane three times Premier. After his death in 1957 the seat passed to Frank Wilkes, who was party leader
1976-81 and later a minister in John Cain (junior)'s government. He was succeeded in 1988 by Tony Sheehan, who was Treasurer in the
Kirner Government, then by Mary Delahunty, who was a minister in the Bracks Government. She retired in 2006 and was succeeded by Fiona
Richardson, who was a minister in the Andrews Government until her death fron cancer in August 2017.
The Labor primary vote in Northcote fell from 72% in 1985 to 40% in 2014, while the Greens vote rose from nothing to 35%. This
is the same pattern as seen in other inner-city seats such Melbourne, Brunswick and Richmond. Nevertheless Labor expected to retain
the seat at the November 2017 by-election, especially considering the circumstances that brought it about. In fact there was a further 11.6%
swing from Labor to the Greens, and the Greens' Lidia Thorpe easily won the seat.
Lidia Thorpe, Greens MLA for Northcote since the 2017 by-election, was managing director of Clan Corporation, which provides
sustainable housing and energy to remote Aboriginal communities, before her election. She is the first Indigenous woman elected to the
Victorian Parliament.
The Labor candidate in 2018 is Kat Theophanous, who was part of the government reslations team at SBS and later a staffer to Fiona Richardson.
She is the daughter of former state minister Theo Theophanous. The last-minute Liberal candidate is John McIsaac,
a consulting engineer in the mining and minerals industry.
Boundaries following 2014 redistricting:
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