THE POLL BLUDGER
Western Australian Legislative Assembly Election 2008

MURRAY-WELLINGTON
Liberal 6.2%
New electorate
Upper house region: South West
Federal divisions: Canning/Forrest
DAVID BOLT
Family First

KEVIN A.J. CLOGHAN
Independent

VIVIAN HILL
Christian Democratic Party

BRIAN McCARTHY
Citizens Electoral Council

ALYCIA K. BERMINGHAM
Independent

ANTHONY MARINOVICH
Labor (bottom)

DENI FULLER
Greens

MURRAY COWPER
Liberal (top)

MICHAEL ROSE
Nationals

The one-vote one-value redistribution has recreated the seat of Murray-Wellington which had been divided between Murray and Collie-Wellington at the 2005 election. It covers the shires of Murray, Waroona and Harvey due south of Perth, barring a small area of Murray which has been ceded to Mandurah. One electorate or the other has existed since self-government began in 1890, Murray-Wellington doing the honours from 1911 to 1950, 1983 to 1989 and 1996 to 2005. A separate electorate of Wellington existed from 1890 to 1911, 1962 to 1983 and 1989 to 1996. The only time Labor won any of the three was when Keith Read prevailed in Murray by 161 votes at the 1989 election, at which his father was defeated in neighbouring Mandurah after six years as member. Murray was nonetheless highly marginal when it existed in its own right, and was a notionally Labor seat when re-created in 2005. Arthur Marshall won it for the Liberals in 1993 before moving to Dawesville in 1996; John Bradshaw held Murray-Wellington from 1983 to 1989 and again from 1996 to 2005, holding Wellington in the interim. Both Marshall and Bradshaw retired at the 2005 election, at which Liberal candidate Murray Cowper overcame Labor's notional 0.7 per cent margin to win by 198 votes (0.8 per cent).

A former Australind police sergeant, Cowper was immediately appointed Shadow Road Safety Minister and has continued to advance through diminishing party ranks despite backing unsuccessful incumbents at successive leadership challenges. He was promoted to the front-bench transport portfolio in February 2006, and again to emergency services and industrial relations the following June. Matt Birney was not impressed when Paul Omodei attempted to lure him back to the front-bench in February 2007 with an offer of Cowper's industrial relations portfolio along with tourism from Carine MP Katie Hodson-Thomas, saying it was “D-grade politics” for Omodei to target two of his supporters for demotion. Cowper has appeared on safer ground on Buswell's watch, winning further promotion to Shadow Police Minister in June when Hillarys MP Rob Johnson was sacked for demanding Buswell dump South Perth MP John McGrath as Shadow Road Safety Minister. He also made headlines as the alleged victim of one of Buswell's numerous indiscretions, pithily described by a News Limited headline: “Troy Buswell accused of grabbing MP's testicles”.

ASSESSMENT: Liberal retain