The Poll Bludger - Australian State and Federal Elections

KINGSLEY Labor 0.0%
Upper house region: North Metropolitan Federal division: Cowan
	ANDREA MITCHELL Liberal (bottom) JUDY HUGHES Labor (top) FRANK HULTGREN Family First DIANA MacTIERNAN Greens BRONWYN PHIPSON Christian Democratic Party

Kingsley covers three suburbs between the Mitchell Freeway and Wanneroo Road roughly 20 kilometres north of the city, from Greenwood north through Kingsley to Woodvale. The redistribution has transferred Warwick in the south to Girrawheen and part of Edgewater in the north to Joondalup, wiping out the slender 0.8 per cent Labor margin. The electorate was created at the 1989 election to accommodate ongoing growth in the northern suburbs, and was held comfortably for the Liberals at its first three elections by Court government Attorney-General Cheryl Edwardes. A 7.3 per cent swing in 2001 cut the margin to 2.9 per cent, prompting Labor to vigorously pursue the seat when Edwardes retired at the 2005 election. In this they may have been assisted by discontent over the Liberals' nomination of Edwardes' husband Colin, Wanneroo councillor and a principal of the “Northern Alliance” faction of northern suburbs Liberal potentates. Dissension in the local Liberal camp was indicated by the candidacy of Marie Evans, wife of former federal Cowan MP Richard Evans, who attracted 11.5 per cent under the “Community 1st” banner. Most blamed the attempted Edwardes succession when the seat emerged as Labor's only gain of the election, although the 3.3 per cent swing was not greatly higher than the northern suburbs average. The successful Labor candidate was Judy Hughes, a former Wanneroo councillor and “Old Right” faction associate who had backed Wanneroo mayor Jon Kelly's bid to topple Margaret Quirk in the Girrawheen preselection. She is opposed at the coming election by Liberal candidate Andrea Mitchell, who as president of Tennis West is the director of the Hopman Cup event.

On the first weekend of the campaign a Westpoll survey of 400 respondents showed Andrea Mitchell leading Judy Hughes 54-46 from primary votes of 51 per cent Liberal and 39 per cent Labor. Late in the second week of the campaign the ABC was told Labor had given up on Kingsley and was diverting resources to seats it could hold. A week out from the election, Robert Taylor of The West Australian wrote that “both sides believe the Liberals have something of a stranglehold” on the seat.

ASSESSMENT: LIBERAL GAIN