Electoral district of Northcote

Not to be confused with Electoral district of Northcott.

Northcote Victoria—Legislative Assembly
State or territory:	Victoria
Created:	1927
MP:	Fiona Richardson
Party:	Australian Labor Party
Electors:	40,423 (2010)
Area:	21 km² (8 sq mi)
Demographic:	Metropolitan

The Electoral district of Northcote is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It currently covers the suburbs of Alphington, Fairfield, Northcote, Thornbury, and part of Preston. It lies on the northern bank of the Yarra River between the Merri and Darebin creeks.

The seat has had only five members since its creation in 1927. It most famous member is former Premier John Cain while Northcote was also the seat for former state Labor leader Frank Wilkes.

Former ABC newsreader Mary Delahunty was elected in an 1998 by-election. As the electorate was safe for the Labor Party, the Liberals declined to nominate a candidate. However, partly due to the presence of a One Nation candidate, the Liberals took the unusual step of actively campaigning for the Australian Democrats, issuing a 'How to Vote Liberal' card which advocated voting Democrat, and then Premier Jeff Kennett also wrote to voters urging them to vote Democrat.[1]

While the law has since been changed stopping party campaigning directly for other parties, the fact the seat is safe for Labor has meant Liberals have often run dead allowing other parties, like the Greens in 2002, to become the main challengers to Labor.

Members for Northcote

	Member	Party	Term
	John Cain	Labor	1927–1957
	Frank Wilkes	Labor	1957–1988
	Tony Sheehan	Labor	1988–1998
	Mary Delahunty	Labor	1998–2006
	Fiona Richardson	Labor	2006–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Northcote

Victorian state election, 2010: Northcote
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Fiona Richardson	15,917	44.94	-7.63
	Greens	Anne Martinelli	10,927	30.85	+3.44
	Liberal	Steve Moran	6,863	19.37	+4.08
	Sex Party	Robert Bishop	1,098	3.10	+3.10
	Independent	Darren Lewin-Hill	404	1.14	-0.39
	Independent	Dominic Marino	213	0.60	+0.60
Total formal votes			35,422	95.76	+0.41
Informal votes			1,567	4.24	-0.41
Turnout			36,989	91.50	+0.97
Two-candidate preferred result
	Labor	Fiona Richardson	21,666	61.23	+2.71
	Greens	Anne Martinelli	13,716	38.77	-2.71
	Labor hold		Swing	+2.71

See also

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

External links

• Electorate profile: Northcote District, Victorian Electoral Commission