For only the second time ever, an Australian Green has been elected in a single member parliamentary electorate, and the first time ever by finishing with more primary votes than the Australian Labor Party (ALP) candidate. The victory came in a May 16th by-election (special election), in the Western Australian (WA) lower house electorate of Fremantle, where the ALP had held onto the seat since 1924. This time Green candidate Adele Carles defeated the ALP political machine’s handpicked candidate and nine other candidates.
Lower house elections are conducted in Australia by what is called preferential voting and in the United States is called Instant Run-Off Voting. Carles received 45 percent of the primary vote (first preferences) to Labor’s 38 percent, and 54 percent to Labor’s 46 percent, after the transfer of other preferences.
The electorate centers on the historic port city of Fremantle, located 12 miles southwest of Perth, the state capital, and includes Perth’s famous fun spot, Rottnest Island. The electorate features a diverse, multi ethnic population, and an above-average proportion of rented dwellings (43 percent), a broadly mixed-class of professions, combined with high unemployment. Fremantle has long been a stronghold for the Greens, usually returning their highest vote in elections. The suburb of Fremantle itself is known for its arts and culture, and this has made it particularly attractive to Green voters. The electorate also includes a very wealthy section to the northeast, which traditionally votes conservative, and Labor voting areas to the south.
Greens vs. Labor
With the conservative Liberals declining to contest the seat, the election in 2009 became a contest between the Greens and the ALP. Voters clearly chose the Greens. On election night Carles said the ALP had moved too far to the right. “This is a victory for the people of Fremantle and for democracy” she declared. “We have forever shattered the two-party myth in Australia. People have dared to look beyond the old parties that have continually let us down. What has happened in Fremantle makes history but it is also the shape of the future.”
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