Electoral district of Bass

This article is about the Victorian state electorate. For the Tasmanian federal electorate, see Division of Bass. For the Tasmanian state electorate, see Division of Bass (state).

Bass Victoria—Legislative Assembly
State or territory:	Victoria
Created:	2002
MP:	Ken Smith
Party:	Liberal Party of Australia
Namesake:	George Bass
Electors:	49,279 (2010)
Area:	1,774 km² (685 sq mi)
Demographic:	Rural

The Electoral district of Bass is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is covers a diverse range of terrority, from outer suburban Pakenham to the rural towns of Lang Lang and Nar Nar Goon to the coastal tourist centres of Phillip Island and Inverloch. It is named after explorer George Bass. He proved that Tasmania was an island and explored just south of Sydney.

The electorate was created in 2002, replacing the marginal independent-held seat of Gippsland West. It was won for the first time at the state election that year by Liberal candidate and former MLC Ken Smith, defeating Susan Davies, the independent MP for Gippsland West, in a closely fought campaign.

Members for Bass

Member		Party	Term
	Ken Smith	Liberal	2002–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Bass

Victorian state election, 2010: Bass
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ken Smith	25,098	56.46	+10.10
	Labor	Gerry Lonergan	12,962	29.16	−5.83
	Greens	Neil Rankine	4,845	10.90	+2.04
	Country Alliance	Bruce Rogers	1,546	3.48	+3.48
Total formal votes			44,451	95.20	−0.25
Informal votes			2,243	4.80	+0.25
Turnout			46,694	94.75	+0.71
Two-candidate preferred result
	Liberal	Ken Smith	27,804	62.58	+7.06
	Labor	Gerry Lonergan	16,662	37.42	−7.06
	Liberal hold		Swing	+7.06

External links

• Electorate profile: Bass, Victorian Electoral Commission