Division of Cowan

Cowan Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Cowan in Western Australia, as of the 2016 federal election.
Created	1984
MP	Anne Aly
Party	Labor
Namesake	Edith Cowan
Electors	96,251 (2016)
Area	180 km^2 (69.5 sq mi)
Demographic	Outer Metropolitan

The Division of Cowan is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. The division was created in 1984 and is named for Edith Cowan, the first woman elected to an Australian Parliament. It is located in the northern suburbs of Perth, including the suburbs of Girrawheen, Greenwood, Landsdale and Marangaroo. It is a marginal seat, changing hands between the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party.

At the 2007 election, the retirement of sitting member Graham Edwards resulted in Labor losing the seat to the Luke Simpkins, the Liberal candidate. Simpkins retained Cowan by defeating Labor candidate Liz Prime and retained the seat at the 2010 and 2013 election. A redistribution in 2015 saw Cowan undergo a significant boundary change which saw the Liberal margin drop from 7.5% to 4.5%. The redistribution saw Labor target the seat at the upcoming 2016 election. At that election the Labor candidate, Anne Aly, successfully became the first Muslim woman elected to the House of Representatives by narrowly defeating Luke Simpkins.

Geography

Cowan covers an area from Tapping and Wanneroo in the north to Kiara and Lockridge in the south. The division covers parts of the City of Wanneroo and the City of Swan and a minor portion of the City of Joondalup. It includes the suburbs of:^[1]

• Alexander Heights
• Ashby
• Ballajura
• Beechboro
• Bennett Springs
• Cullacabardee
• Darch
• Girrawheen
• Gnangara
• Greenwood
• Hocking
• Jandabup
• Kiara
• Kingsley (part)
• Koondoola
• Lockridge
• Madeley
• Malaga
• Marangaroo
• Pearsall
• Sinagra
• Tapping
• Wangara
• Wanneroo
• Warwick
• Whiteman

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Carolyn Jakobsen	Labor	1984–1993
	Richard Evans	Liberal	1993–1998
	Graham Edwards	Labor	1998–2007
	Luke Simpkins	Liberal	2007–2016
	Anne Aly	Labor	2016–present

Election results

Australian federal election, 2016: Cowan^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Luke Simpkins	34,405	42.22	−4.36
	Labor	Anne Aly	33,966	41.68	+6.90
	Greens	Sheridan Young	6,193	7.60	−0.18
	Christians	Rex Host	2,680	3.29	+0.90
	Shooters, Fishers and Farmers	Jamie Chester	2,288	2.81	+2.81
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Hamilton	1,096	1.34	+1.34
	Mature Australia	Steve Veness	868	1.07	+1.07
Total formal votes			81,496	94.53	+0.09
Informal votes			4,712	5.47	−0.09
Turnout			86,208	89.57	−2.10
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Anne Aly	41,301	50.68	+5.20
	Liberal	Luke Simpkins	40,195	49.32	−5.20
	Labor gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.20

References

1. "Profile of the electoral division of Cowan (WA)". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
2. Cowan, WA, Virtual Tally Room 2016, Australian Electoral Commission.

External links

• Division of Cowan - Australian Electoral Commission

Coordinates: 31°46′55″S 115°50′46″E / 31.782°S 115.846°E