Electoral division of Araluen
| Araluen Northern Territory—Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|
|
Location of Araluen in the Alice Springs area | |
| Territory | Northern Territory |
| Created | 1983 |
| MP | Robyn Lambley |
| Party | Independent |
| Namesake | Araluen |
| Electors | 4,817 (2012) |
| Area | 192 km2 (74.1 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Urban |
Araluen is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1983, replacing the electorate of Alice Springs, which had been abolished as part of the enlargement of the Assembly. The electorate covers a 192 km2 (74 sq mi) area to the south and west of Alice Springs, including the Alice Springs CBD, the suburb of Araluen, and some surrounding rural areas. There were 4,817 people enrolled in the electorate as of August 2012.
The city of Alice Springs has traditionally been a strong support base for the conservative Country Liberal Party, and Araluen has returned CLP members at every election since its creation in 1983. The party has only come close to losing the seat on one occasion: in 2001, when the retirement of veteran Cabinet minister Eric Poole and two prominent independent candidacies nearly delivered the seat to Labor, with new CLP candidate Jodeen Carney only holding the seat by 134 votes. Carney proved to be a popular local member, and despite holding the territory's most marginal CLP-held seat, was one of only four CLP members across the territory to be returned amidst the Labor landslide at the 2005 election, and the only one to actually pick up a swing in her favour. She subsequently served as the territory's Opposition Leader after the election from 2005 until January 2008. Carney was re-elected with nearly 70 per cent of the primary vote at the 2008 election. Carney resigned on 3 September 2010; a by-election to replace her was held on 9 October 2010 which saw Robyn Lambley retain the seat for the CLP. Lambley resigned from the CLP on 18 June 2015 and is sitting as an independent until the next election.[1]
In 2011, as part of a redistribution, it was proposed to rename the seat to Perkins, in honour of Hetty Perkins, an Arrernte elder.[2] However, the proposal was later abandoned after local opposition.[3]
Members for Araluen
| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Robertson | Country Liberal Party | 1983–1986 | |
| Eric Poole | Country Liberal Party | 1986–2001 | |
| Jodeen Carney | Country Liberal Party | 2001–2010 | |
| Robyn Lambley | Country Liberal Party | 2010–2015 | |
| Independent | 2015–present | ||
Election results
| Northern Territory general election, 2012: Araluen[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Country Liberal | Robyn Lambley | 2,487 | 68.7 | +0.4 | |
| Labor | Adam Findlay | 848 | 23.4 | +6.3 | |
| First Nations | Edan Baxter | 285 | 7.9 | +7.9 | |
| Total formal votes | 3,620 | 96.4 | −1.2 | ||
| Informal votes | 137 | 3.6 | +1.2 | ||
| Turnout | 3,757 | 78.0 | −0.9 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Country Liberal | Robyn Lambley | 2,612 | 72.2 | −2.5 | |
| Labor | Adam Findlay | 1,008 | 27.8 | +2.5 | |
| Country Liberal hold | Swing | −2.5 | |||
References
- ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-17/robyn-lambley-quits-clp-to-sit-as-independent/6554140
- ↑ (31 May 2011). "Central Australian seats get Indigenous names" – ABC News. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ↑ Antony Green. Northern Territory votes: Araluen – ABC News. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ↑ http://www.ntec.nt.gov.au/ElectionLAgeneral/Results/Pages/default.aspx