Adam Carr's Election Archive

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Victorian state election, 28 November 2026
South Barwon District

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Location: Grovedale, Highton, Waurn Ponds
Legislative Council: Western Victoria Region

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Enrolment 2022 election: 51,546
Enrolment June 2026: 59,917 (up 16.2%)

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Relevant demographics (2021 census)

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High income: 26.6% (Aust average 22.6%)
Renting: 25.1% (Aust average 30.6%)
Paying a mortgage: 42.0% (Aust average 35.0%)
Couples with children: 63.0% (Aust average 43.7%)
Born overseas: 16.6% (Aust average 27.7%)
No religion: 48.1% (Aust average 38.9%)
University graduate: 31.1% (Aust average 26.3%)
Professional / managerial: 39.7% (Aust average 37.7%)

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Sitting member: Darren Cheeseman (independent): Elected 2018, 2022. Retiring 2026

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2018 Labor majority over Liberal: 04.6%
2021 redistricting: Labor majority over Liberal: 03.0%
2022 Labor majority over Liberal: 09.8%

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Status: Fairly safe Labor

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South Barwon was created in 1976, carved out of the old seat of Ballarine, taking in the outer suburbs of Geelong. Grovedale is a low-income area, while other areas such as Highton are more affluent. Overall the seat is more affluent than most regional seats, and has a high level of young families paying mortgages.

South Barwon was held by three successive Liberal backbenchers until it fell to Labor's Michael Crutchfield in the Bracks Labor landslide in 2002. He was re-elected in 2006, but defeated by the Liberal Andrew Katos in 2014. Recent members: Harley Dickinson (Liberal) 1982-92, Alister Paterson (Liberal) 1992-2002, Michael Crutchfield (Labor) 2002-10, Andrew Katos (Liberal) 2010-18, Darren Cheeseman (Labor) since 2018.

Cheeseman, a former federal MP, got a swing towards him of 6.8% in 2002, the biggest swing to Labor in the state. But in April 2024 he was expelled from the Labor Caucus after allegations of harassment of a staff member. He has sat since as an independent. The seat is now more vulnerable than its 2022 majority would suggest.

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2022 results

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Boundaries following 2021 redistricting

See full-size map

Candidates:

Madilyn Gorman Victorian Socialists	Freya Hedley Socialist Alliance	Libby Pettit Liberal Party

Izzy Scherrer Australian Greens	Rebecca Thistleton Australian Labor Party

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