Electoral district of Ballarat West

Ballarat West Victoria—Legislative Assembly
State or territory:	Victoria
Created:	1904, 1992
Abolished:	1927
MP:	Sharon Knight
Party:	Australian Labor Party
Electors:	43,964 (2010)
Area:	135 km² (52 sq mi)
Demographic:	Urbanised Rural

The Electoral district of Ballarat West is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly in Australia. It has had two periods of existence, firstly between 1859 and 1927 and since 1992. Unlike Ballarat East which has a rural character, Ballarat West is mostly urban, taking in much of Ballarat itself and its southern and western suburbs.

The seat is currently narrowly held by the Labor Party. It was held by the Liberal Party during the years of the Kennett government.

Members for Ballarat West

First incarnation (1859–1904)
Member		Party	Term
	John Bailey	Unaligned	1859–1861
	Robert Serjeant	Unaligned	1859–1861
	Duncan Gillies	Unaligned	1861–1868
	William Collard Smith	Unaligned	1861–1864
	Robert Lewis	Unaligned	1864
	William Vale	Unaligned	1864–65, 1865–69
	Charles Jones	Unaligned	1868–69, 1869, 1869–71
	John James	Unaligned	1869–1870
	Sir Archibald Michie	Unaligned	1870–1871
	Joseph Jones	Unaligned	1871–1875
	William Collard Smith	Unaligned	1871–1892
	George Fincham	Unaligned	1875–1886
	Henry Bell	Unaligned	1877–1886
	Charles Jones	Unaligned	1886–1889
	Richard Vale	Unaligned	1886–1889
	Joseph Kirton	Unaligned	1889–1894
	Richard Vale	Unaligned	1892–1902
	William Collard Smith	Unaligned	1894
	Joseph Kirton	Unaligned	1894–1904
	Richard Vale	Unaligned	1892–1902
	Charles Shoppee	Ministerialist	1902–1904
Second incarnation (1904–1927)
Member		Party	Term
	Harry Bennett	Labor	1904–1907
	Joseph Kirton	Unaligned	1907–1908
	Andrew McKissock	Labor	1908–1911
	Matthew Baird	Commonwealth Liberal	1911–1917
		Economy	1917–1918
		Nationalist	1918–1927
Third incarnation (1992–present)
Member		Party	Term
	Paul Jenkins	Liberal	1992–1999
	Karen Overington	Labor	1999–2010
	Sharon Knight	Labor	2010–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Ballarat West

Victorian state election, 2010: Ballarat West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Craig Coltman	17,230	43.60	+5.66
	Labor	Sharon Knight	16,446	41.62	−5.49
	Greens	Leon Dwyer	3,876	9.81	−0.08
	Family First	Dale Butterfield	1,284	3.25	−1.78
	Country Alliance	Carl Wesley	681	1.72	+1.72
Total formal votes			39,517	95.78	−0.56
Informal votes			1,740	4.22	+0.56
Turnout			41,257	93.84	+1.55
Two-candidate preferred result
	Labor	Sharon Knight	20,175	51.05	−5.55
	Liberal	Craig Coltman	19,342	48.95	+5.55
	Labor hold		Swing	−5.55

See also

• Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
• List of members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

External links

• Electorate profile: Ballarat West District, Victorian Electoral Commission