Electoral district of North West Central

North West Central
Western Australia—Legislative Assembly
Location of North West Central (dark green) in Western Australia
StateWestern Australia
Dates current2005–present1
MPMerome Beard
PartyLiberal
NamesakeNorth-west region of Western Australia
Electors10,993 (2021)
Area820,591 km2 (316,832.0 sq mi)
DemographicRural, remote and provincial
Electorates around North West Central:
Indian Ocean Pilbara
Kimberley		 Northern Territory
Indian Ocean North West Central Northern Territory
Indian Ocean Kalgoorlie
Moore		 South Australia
Footnotes
1 known as North West Coastal 2005–2008 and North West 2008–2013

North West Central is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia.

The district is mostly based in the rural north-west of Western Australia. It is currently a marginal seat for the Nationals.

History

First known as North West Coastal, the district was first created for the 2005 state election, incorporating territory from the abolished districts of Burrup and Ningaloo. The seat was won by Labor MP, and then member for Burrup, Fred Riebeling.

The district was expanded for the 2008 state election, incorporating more inland territory which resulted in the name change to North West. With Riebeling's decision to retire, the contest pitted Labor MP Vince Catania, then a member of the Legislative Council, against Liberal candidate, and former Ningaloo MP, Rod Sweetman, with Catania emerging victorious. On 20 July 2009, Catania announced his decision to leave the Labor Party to join the rival National Party.[1]

The 2013 state election saw the Labor-leaning Shire of Roebourne transferred to the Pilbara while taking more central areas of the state including the shires of Sandstone and Wiluna, increasing National's hold on the seat. The increase in terms of area in the central part of the state saw yet another name change to North West Central.

Catania resigned on 8 August 2022, resulting in the 2022 North West Central state by-election,[2][3] which was retained for the Nationals by Merome Beard.[4] On 31 October 2023, Beard announced her decision to leave the National Party to join the Liberal Party.[5]

Geography

Based in the remote north-west of Western Australia, the district includes the towns of Carnarvon, Coral Bay, Cue, Denham, Exmouth, Meekatharra, Mount Magnet, Onslow, Paraburdoo, Sandstone, Tom Price, Warburton, Wiluna and Yalgoo.

Members

North West Coastal (2005–2008)
Member Party Term
  Fred Riebeling Labor 2005–2008
North West (2008–2013)
Member Party Term
  Vince Catania Labor 2008–2009
  National 2009–2013
North West Central (2013–present)
Member Party Term
  Vince Catania National 2013–2022
  Merome Beard National 2022–2023
  Liberal 2023–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of North West Central
This section is an excerpt from 2022 North West Central state by-election § Election results.[edit]
2022 North West Central state by-election[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Merome Beard 2,042 40.2 +0.4
Liberal Will Baston 1,353 26.6 +18.7
Greens Niels Glahn-Bertelsen 635 12.5 +8.4
Legalise Cannabis Leanne Lockyer 269 5.3 +5.3
Western Australia Andrea Randle 202 4.0 +4.0
One Nation Gerald Laurent 197 3.9 +0.9
Western Australia Anthony Fels 108 2.1 +2.1
No Mandatory Vaccination Aaron Horsman 82 1.6 +0.6
Independent Peter Dunne 55 1.1 +1.1
  Small Business Peter Baker 55 1.1 +1.1
Independent Tony Stokes 44 0.9 +0.9
Liberal Democrats Jake McCoull 42 0.8 +0.8
Total formal votes 5,084 95.3 −0.2
Informal votes 251 4.7 +0.2
Turnout 5,335 47.7
Two-candidate-preferred result
National Merome Beard 3,071 60.5 +8.8
Liberal Will Baston 2,008 39.5 +39.5
National hold  
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 Western Australian state election (Legislative Assembly) § North West Central.[edit]
2021 Western Australian state election: North West Central[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Cherie Sibosado 3,114 40.2 +13.5
National Vince Catania 3,075 39.7 +3.6
Liberal Alys McKeough 611 7.9 −7.9
Greens Sandy Burt 318 4.1 −1.5
Shooters, Fishers, Farmers Stefan Colagiuri 233 3.0 +2.6
One Nation Robert Tonkin 232 3.0 −8.4
No Mandatory Vaccination A. Agyputri 81 1.0 +1.0
Independent Henry Seddon 40 0.5 +0.5
WAxit Brendan McKay 37 0.5 +0.2
Total formal votes 7,741 95.5 +0.1
Informal votes 367 4.5 −0.1
Turnout 8,108 73.8 −5.5
Two-candidate-preferred result
National Vince Catania 3,997 51.7 −8.4
Labor Cherie Sibosado 3,738 48.3 +8.4
National hold Swing −8.4

See also

References

  1. ^ "Catania quits Labor to join Nationals - ABC News".
  2. ^ Bourke, Keane (9 August 2022). "Nationals MP Vince Catania hands in resignation for WA seat of North West Central". ABC News. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  3. ^ Law, Peter (9 August 2022). "WA Labor to skip North West Central by-election amid tension between Mark McGowan and Alannah MacTiernan". The West Australian. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  4. ^ Ferguson, Kate; Carmody, James (17 September 2022). "Western Australian Nationals candidate Merome Beard named winner in North West Central by-election". ABC News. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Nationals MP Merome Beard quits party to join Liberals, throwing opposition alliance into doubt - ABC News".
  6. ^ 2022 North West Central By-election, WAEC
  7. ^ 2021 State General Election – North West Central District Results, WAEC

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