|
|
|
|
| Adam Carr's Election Archive
|
Victorian state election, 2018
Richmond District
Inner Melbourne: Burnley, Clifton Hill, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Richmond
Federal seats: Parts of Cooper (formerly Batman) and
Melbourne
Legislative Council: Northern Metropolitan Region
Local government areas: Part of Yarra
Enrolment 2014 election: 46,690
Enrolment 2018 election: 54,680 (up 17.1%)
Sitting member:
Hon Richard Wynne (Labor): Elected 1999, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
2010 Labor majority over Greens: 6.3
2014 Labor majority over Greens: 1.9
Status: Very marginal Labor versus Greens
2014 results
Candidates
 |
 |
Kathleen Maltzahn
Australian Greens |
Hon Richard Wynne
Australian Labor Party |
Herschel Landes (Independent)
Emma Manning (Independent)
Kathleen Maltzahn (Australian Greens)
Adrian Whitehead (Independent)
Craig Kealy (Animal Justice Party)
Kevin Quoc Tran (Independent)
Judy Ryan (Fiona Patten's Reason Party)
Hon Richard Wynne (Australian Labor Party)
Richmond District
The seat of Richmond has existed since the first Legislative Assembly election in 1856. It is one of only three districts
to have existed continuously since then (the others being Brighton and Williamstown). Even then Richmond was becoming a manufacturing
centre and was soon a solidly working-class area. Between the depression of the 1890s and the 1950s it was close to being a slum,
and was dominated by a semi-criminal Irish-Catholic political machine. After World War II it was settled by waves of
immigrants, first Greeks, the Vietnamese, more recently Africans. In the 1960s high-rise blocks of flats were built by the state
Housing Commission, and these are still home to large numbers of recent immigrants and low-income people.
Not surprisingly, Richmond was one of the first Assembly districts to elect a Labor member, in 1889. Labor has held the seat
almost continuously since, the only break being in 1955 when Frank Scully held it as "anti-Communist Labor" for one term. Until the rise
of the Greens in the 1990s, Richmond was one of the safest Labor seats in the state. Like all inner-city areas, it has undergone radical
social change as industry has moved away, followed by working-class voters. Today the Fitzroy, Collingwood and most of Richmond itself
are largely inhabited by affluent professionals, who form the voting base for the Greens.
Labor's primary vote in Richmond has fallen from 70% in 1985 to 33% in 2014, while the Greens have risen from nothing to 30%.
Labor had a 6% two-party majority over the Greens in 2010, which fell to 1% in 2014. With the Liberals apparently not fielding a candidate,
Labor is in severe danger of losing Richmond in 2018.
Richard Wynne, Labor MLA for Richmond since 1999, was a social worker before entering politics. He was a Melbourne City councillor
and was Lord Mayor in 1991. He was also a staffer to Deputy Prime Minister Brian Howe. He was a minister in the Bracks and Brumby
governments, and has been Minister for Planning since 2014.
The Greens candidate in 2018, who also ran in 2014, is Kathleen Maltzahn, a lecturer in social policy at La Trobe
University. The Liberals are not contesting the seat, hoping to deprive Labor of preferences and help the Greens win the seat.
Boundaries following 2014 redistricting:
Back to main page
|
|