BUTLER MLA John Quigley has enjoyed a 12 per cent swing in the Saturday, March 11 State Election, in which there was a landslide win for WA Labor.
Mr Quigley, who some commentators predict will be named Attorney General in WA Labor Leader Mark McGowan’s new Cabinet, held the seat with just a 1 per cent margin after a recent re-distribution.
On Sunday with about 64 per cent of the vote counted his Liberal opponent and City of Wanneroo councillor Linda Aitken appeared on a first preference basis to have suffered a more than a 23 per cent swing against her.
Butler includes the suburbs of Two Rocks, Yanchep, Eglinton, Alkimos, Jindalee and Butler as well as Quinns Rocks, Merriwa and Ridgewood.
In the electorate of Moore with more than 67 per cent of the vote counted the National Party’s Shane Love appears to have held onto the seat.
In Moore Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party achieved its best lower house result in the election with the party’s candidate Jim Kelly recording a first preference vote of 12.7 per cent.
ABC election analyst Antony Green said in Moore Labor’s Barni Norton had finished second and the indicative National versus Liberal count had been abandoned.
“There is little doubt the Nationals have won the seat and the ABC site is using estimating preferences for a final National versus Liberal (Darren Slyns)contest,’’ he said.
Mr Green said according to the two-party preferred count in the ABC election computer Labor had 55.7 per cent of the vote and the Coalition 44.3 per cent – a swing of 12.9 per cent.
“(But) that total may fall with further counting,’’ he said.
One Nation contested 35 of the lower house seats, though in four seats where One Nation appeared on the ballot paper, the candidate either resigned or was dis-endorsed before election day.
“Pauline Hanson’s One Nation did not poll nearly as well as polls predicted, though the under performance is in part due to the party not contesting every seat,’’ he said.
“One Nation polled 4.7 percent of the state vote in the lower house, but matched its most recent opinion poll figure by recording 8.1 per cent in the seats the party contested.
“The party polled 7.2 per cent in the Lower House metropolitan seats it contested, and 9.6 per cent in non-metropolitan seats it contested.
“The party’s best lower house results were 12.7 per cent in rural Moore, 12.6 per cent in Mandurah south of Perth, 11.8 per cent in Kalgoorlie and 11.3 per cent in Warnbro, the party’s best Perth result.”
“In the Legislative Council where One Nation contested every region, One Nation polled 7.3 per cent.
“One Nation faced more competition from other minor parties in the Upper House compared with the Lower House.
“The Legislative Council result for One Nation was 6.4 per cent in metroplitan Perth and 10.6 per cent in the rest of the state.’’
In the North Metropolitan One Nation received 5.7 per cent of the vote.
In non-metropolitan Upper House regions One Nation polled 14.1 per cent in Mining and Pastoral region, 11.1 per cent in the Agricultural and 9.4 per cent in the South West.
“The party is currently projected to elect only one member, its leader Colin Ticknell in South West Region.
“His victory is due to Liberal preferences.
“A second One Nation MLC also has good chances of election in the Mining and Pastoral region.’’
Results so far (54.1 per cent of the vote counted) show the North Metropolitan Upper House winners are Liberal Peter Collier, WA Labor’s Alannah MacTiernan, Liberal Michael Mischin, WA Labor’s Martin Pritchard, Liberal Tjorn Simba and the Greens Alison Xamon.
Family First, Flux The System! and Fluoride Free WA all won less than 1 per cent of the vote in the North Metropolitan region.
In the Agriculture region (with 52 per cent of the vote counted) the National’s Martin Aldridge was successful as was WA Labor’s Darren West, the Liberal’s Jim Chown, the National’s Colin De Grussa, WA Labor’s Laurie Graham and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers’ Rick Mazza.
