The Electoral district of Thuringowa is an electorate in the Legislative Assembly of the state of Queensland, Australia.
The division encompasses suburbs of the former City of Thuringowa on the western edge of Townsville in North Queensland, stretching from Deeragun in the north to Kelso in the south. It includes the suburbs of Bushland Beach, Shaw, Thuringowa Central, Rasmussen, Condon and Kirwan.[1][2]
The Electorate is bordered by the Hinchinbrook (North and West), Burdekin (South), Mundingburra and Townsville (both East) Electorates.[3] The Electorate has become increasingly urbanised[2] and with 31,985 voters, the Electorate has a population 13.13% larger than the average in Queensland[4] and therefore will probably be reduced significantly in the upcoming redistribution.[5]
Thuringowa is currently a safe Labor Party seat, held by Hon Craig Wallace MP, a former City Council advisor to former Mayor of Townsville Tony Mooney[2], he is now Minister for Natural Resources and Water and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland in the Beattie Government.
[edit] History
The Electoral district of Thuringowa was created relatively recently in 1986, mostly from the western section of the Townsville Electorate.[6]
Thuringowa Electorate was one of eleven State seats held by Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party from 1998, until it was returned to Labor in the 2001 landslide.
In 2004 the one term sitting member, Anita Phillips did not recontest, instead choosing to challenge Peter Lindsay (unsuccessfully) for the Federal Division of Herbert.[1]
Labor's Craig Wallace has held the seat since 2004.[1] In the 2006 election Thuringowa went against the state-wide trend of a slight swing against Labor, Mr. Wallace achieved a swing towards Labor of 16.2% primary vote and 9.5% two party preferred.[7] Immediately after the election he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for North Queensland,[8] and two months later was promoted to Cabinet as the new Minister for Natural Resources and Water and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland when a Cabinet vacancy was created by the resignation of then Attorney-General Linda Lavarch in late October 2006.[9]
[edit] Members for Thuringowa
[edit] 2006 Results
| Registered Voters | 31,166 | | Safe Labor | |
| Votes Cast | 28,308 | | Turnout % | 90.83 | -1.23 | |
| Informal Votes | 871 | | Informal % | 3.08 | +0.26 | |
| Party | Candidate | Primary Votes | % | Swing% | | |
| | Queensland Greens | Frank Reilly | 1,698 | 6.19 | +0.46 | | |
| | Labor | Craig Wallace | 16,613 | 60.55 | +15.77 | Elected | |
| | One Nation Party | Bill Hankin | 1,311 | 4.78 | -5.02 | | |
| | Nationals | Rod Hardacre | 7,815 | 28.48 | +2.97 | | |
| Total | | 27,437 | | | | |
| Two Candidate Preferred | | | | | | |
| | Australian Labor Party | Craig Wallace | 17,255 | 67.01 | +9.44 | Elected | |
| | National Party of Australia | Rod Hardacre | 8,493 | 32.99 | -9.44 | | |
| Total | | 25,748 | | | [10][11][12] | |
[edit] References
