Liberal heartland almost turns green

June 20, 2001
Issue 

BY GRANT COLEMAN

PERTH — The Liberals have only just managed to hold on to the lower house seat of Nedlands in a by-election on June 9. Greens candidate Steve Walker came within 3.5% of stealing the blue-ribbon Liberal seat.

The seat was vacated when former premier Richard Court resigned following the Liberals' stunning defeat in the February state elections. The Liberal candidate, Sue Walker, won with just 53.41% after preferences, significantly less than the Liberal vote in February and dramatically less than the 70.67% Richard Court won in 1993.

Similar to the February election, there was a large non-major party vote. Thirty percent of the electorate didn't bother to vote at all.

With 46.59% of the two-party preferred vote (from 14% of the primary vote), this was by far the largest vote the Greens have ever received in a lower house seat.

It follows an average Greens vote of 7.5% in February, an increase of 2.5% across the state. This was enough to give the party a total of five upper house members and the balance of power.

A large part of the Greens' electoral success can be attributed to the struggle to save old-growth forests. In 1999 over 80% of Western Australians indicated that they opposed Court's Regional Forest Agreement. Even after Court revised this agreement, more than 5000 people marched through the streets of Fremantle demanding a complete end to old-growth logging.

Liberals for Forests received a similar primary vote to the Greens in the Nedlands poll with 12%. Although their support base represents the right-wing of the campaign, it indicates the depth of backing for environmental issues.

Liberals for Forests will probably run a Senate candidate in the federal elections, and direct preferences to the Greens. This makes it likely that the Greens will reclaim the senate seat they lost to the Democrats in the 1996 federal election.

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