Electoral District of Alfred Cove - History

History

Alfred Cove was created at the 1994 redistribution, created out of the northern riverside portions of the former seats of Applecross and part of Melville, and was first contested in the 1996 election at which Liberal member and Court government minister Doug Shave, who had previously represented Melville since the 1989 election, was successful. Alfred Cove, and Applecross before it, was regarded as very safe for the Liberal Party, but an Independent Liberal, Penny Hearne, who had formerly represented the Liberals against Kim Beazley in Brand at the previous federal election, had cut Shave's margin to just over 2%.

As Minister for Fair Trading, Shave was criticised over his department's handling of the so-called finance brokers' scandal in 1999-2000, where thousands of elderly investors faced losses estimated at over A$200 million. In particular, Shave was accused of giving preferential treatment to his own father-in-law to recover $100,000. The electorate at the 2001 census, taken shortly after the elections, had a median age of 40 and 28.7% of its population were over 55 years of age, and hence was unusually affected by the consequences of the finance brokers' scandal. The candidates at the 2001 election included Denise Brailey, an advocate for the elderly investors, and Dr Janet Woollard, the wife of former Australian Medical Association president Dr Keith Woollard who had started the Liberals for Forests party. In the event, with Labor not contesting, each got over 20% of the vote, with Woollard winning on preferences when Brailey and the Greens were eliminated and their votes distributed.

Woollard faced a strong opponent at the 2005 election in Liberal candidate and former Court government minister Graham Kierath, who had unexpectedly lost his seat of Riverton on a 10% swing to the Labor Party. Despite Kierath winning on primary votes, Woollard once again won on preferences.