SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ELECTION 2010

ENFIELD Labor 24.8%
Region: Inner Northern Suburbs Federal division: Adelaide/Port Adelaide
	BRETT DEWEY Family First ANDREW STANKO Independent LUKE WESTLEY Liberal (bottom) ROBERT SIMMS Greens JOHN RAU Labor (top)
Electoral District Boundaries Commission map

Known as Ross Smith until the 2002 election, Enfield covers northern suburbs north of Regency Road about four kilometres from the city, from Mansfield Park east through Regency Park to Clearview and Broadview. There is also an extension south of Regency Road at the eastern end of the electorate taking in southern Broadview and northern Collinswood, an area marked by higher incomes and electorally more of a piece with Adelaide. Labor's two-party majorities in the suburbs to the north range from 18.0 per cent at Blair Athol to an almost Zimbabwean 37.8 per cent at Woodville Gardens. Napier or Ross Smith has existed since 1956, in which time there have been four Labor members: Joe Jennings until 1977; John Bannon from 1977 to 1993, including his stint as Premier from 1982 to 1992; Ralph Clarke from 1993 to 2002; and John Rau thereafter. Clarke became deputy leader a year after his election, but soon emerged a casualty of the collapse of his Centre Left faction. An alliance struck between the Right and the Bolkus Left after the 1997 election saw him dumped as deputy leader in favour of the Right's Annette Hurley, who despite factional deals only won the caucus ballot over Clarke by 15 votes to 14. A particularly brazen branch-stacking operation over the following year inspired him to take legal action against his own party, resulting in a series of landmark legal victories which established the right of courts to intervene in internal party matters.

A secret ballot of de-stacked local branches indicated 60 out of 74 members with voting rights supported Clarke, but the state executive intervened to install John Rau, a former Centre Left member who had switched to the Right. Before the 2002 election, Clarke and another Centre Left colleague, Senator Chris Schacht (himself recently demoted to the lethal third place on the Senate ticket), claimed Mike Rann had moved to have Rau dumped and Clarke reinstated. Clarke attempted to hold the seat as an independent, but went into the election burdened by domestic violence allegations (charges were terminated in 1999 due to “credibility problems” with the evidence) from former partner Edith Pringle, who ran as an upper house candidate under the banner “You Can't Beat a Woman”. Clarke narrowly failed to pip the Liberal candidate into third place, trailing 26.5 per cent to 28.6 per cent at the critical point in the count. Between the Labor swing and the recovery of the Clarke vote, the 2006 election saw Rau's primary vote increase by 24.0 per cent.

Rau came to parliament from a background as a barrister and adviser to Hawke Government ministers Mick Young, Michael Tate and Neal Blewett. He had earlier failed to win the federal seat of Hindmarsh in 1993, which was Labor's first defeat since 1917 – though in fairness to him, the seat had been made very marginal by an unfavourable redistribution. Rau hit the ground running upon entering parliament, building a high profile through crusades over parliamentary reform, workplace training, motor scooters, unruly public housing tenants and dubious practices in the real estate industry. Despite his hard work and good pedigree, Rau has been overlooked for promotion. When the July 2008 reshuffle failed to change the cabinet line-up, Michael Owen of The Advertiser reported talk he had been “threatening to quit in protest if a more lucrative option came his way”.

PREDICTION: Labor retain