Electoral District of Collie-Preston - Geography

Geography

Collie-Preston presently includes the Shires of Collie, Capel, Donnybrook-Balingup and Dardanup. It includes the Bunbury suburbs of Dalyellup, Eaton and Millbridge, the towns of Balingup, Boyanup, Burekup, Capel, Collie, Dardanup, Donnybrook and Kirup.

The seat has changed many times through its history. In the 1950s, the seat was limited to the region around Collie itself and mining areas within the Shire of West Arthur. By 1968, the seat consisted of the Shires of Collie, Donnybrook-Balingup and Boyup Brook districts, and from 1976 to 1982 also included Dardanup. The 1988 redistribution added Boddington from the abolished Dale, as well as the Greenbushes district from Warren. The 1994 redistribution added Dardanup and eastern Capel, including Boyanup but excluding Eaton and the coastal regions. Ahead of the state election, only Collie and Dardanup were retained, with the seat gaining Waroona and most of Harvey (excluding Australind and other urban districts which were part of Leschenault).

The 2007 redistribution, which took effect at the 2008 election, brought back Dardanup and Donnybrook-Balingup, but also added Capel from the abolished Capel district, and the Bunbury suburb of Eaton from the abolished Leschenault. This change rendered Collie a marginal Labor seat, with Labor's 81.7% two-party-preferred vote across the six booths in the town of Collie contrasting with the Liberals' 60.1% two-party-preferred vote across the three outer Bunbury booths. With the rural districts generally historically preferring Liberal candidates—62.7% at the 2005 election and 61.9% at the 2007 federal election—the seat has been rated by Antony Green as marginal Labor with a margin of 0.9% going into the election.