Division of Forrest
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox Australian electorate
The Division of Forrest is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia.
Geography
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.[1]
History
The division was created in 1922 and is named for Sir John Forrest, the first Premier of Western Australia and a federal Cabinet minister. It is located in the South West region of the state and, as of the 2022 election, includes the Cities of Bunbury and Busselton along with the Shires of Augusta-Margaret River, Capel, Dardanup, Donnybrook-Balingup, and Harvey. The Shire of Nannup was previously part of the seat, but was transferred to the neighbouring electorate of O'Connor following a 2021 redistribution.[2]
Before the 1943 election, it was a Country Party seat, but since the 1949 election it has been held by the Liberals for all but one term. Labor has only held the seat for three terms, during the high-tide elections of 1943 and 1946, and in the midst of the Coalition's near-defeat of 1969. It reverted to the Liberals in 1972 even as Labor won government. The seat was marginal for most of the 1980s, but a 1990 redistribution made the seat much more secure for the Liberals. In 2022, amidst a statewide collapse of Liberal Party support, sitting member Nola Marino suffered a swing of over 10 percent, leaving her holding the seat on a 4.29 percent margin.
Notable members include Nelson Lemmon, a minister in the Chifley Government, Gordon Freeth, a minister in the Menzies, Holt and Gorton governments, and Geoff Prosser, a minister in the Howard government.
Members
| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Australian party style| | File:John Prowse.png | John Prowse (1871–1944)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Country | 16 December 1922 – 21 August 1943 |
Previously held the Division of Swan. Lost seat |
| Template:Australian party style| | File:Nelson Lemmon.jpg | Nelson Lemmon (1908–1989)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Labor | 21 August 1943 – 10 December 1949 |
Served as minister under Chifley. Lost seat. Later elected to the Division of St George in 1954 |
| Template:Australian party style| | File:Gordon Freeth 1969.jpg | Gordon Freeth (1914–2001)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Liberal | 10 December 1949 – 25 October 1969 |
Served as minister under Menzies, Holt, McEwen and Gorton. Lost seat |
| Template:Australian party style| | File:Frank Kirwan 1970.png | Frank Kirwan (1937–1976)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Labor | 25 October 1969 – 2 December 1972 |
Lost seat |
| Template:Australian party style| | File:Peter Drummond 1974 (cropped).jpg | Peter Drummond (1931–2013)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Liberal | 2 December 1972 – 5 June 1987 |
Retired |
| Template:Australian party style| | File:Liberal Placeholder.png | Geoff Prosser (1948–)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
11 July 1987 – 17 October 2007 |
Served as minister under Howard. Retired | |
| Template:Australian party style| | File:Nola Marino.jpg | Nola Marino (1954–)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
24 November 2007 – 28 March 2025 |
Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Turnbull and Morrison. Retired | |
| Template:Australian party style| | File:Liberal Placeholder.png | Ben Small (1988–)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
3 May 2025 – present |
Previously a senator in Western Australia from 2020 until 2022. Incumbent | |
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Election results
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References
External links
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ https://www.aec.gov.au/Electorates/Redistributions/2021/wa/files/redistribution-of-western-australia-into-electoral-divisions-august-2021.pdf Template:Bare URL PDF