Electoral district of Albert
Encyclopedia
The electoral district of Albert is a Legislative Assembly
electorate in the state
of Queensland
. Albert is named for the Albert River, which runs through the electorate and separates Logan City from Gold Coast City. It was first created in a redistribution in 1887 ahead of the 1888 state election, and apart from a ten-year break in the 1950s, has existed ever since.
Its consistently changing boundaries together with its existence in a high-growth area do not provide consistent political leanings over time, although it has shown more inclination towards the Labor Party
over time than any other Gold Coast seat.
The present Member, Margaret Keech
, was first elected in the 2001 election. She is the Government Whip in the government of Anna Bligh
.
, who served in both the Second Kidston Ministry
and Denham Ministry
, participated in the formation of both the Queensland Farmers' Union from the rural caucus of the Ministerialist party in 1915 and the subsequent Country Party
in 1919.
The seat's boundaries evolved thus:
It was split up in the 1949 redistribution ahead of the 1950 state election
into Darlington
, which included Redland, Logan, Beaudesert, Coomera
, Jimboomba and Tamborine; and Southport
which was limited to the Gold Coast and its hinterland. Both seats remained safe for the Country Party
; Plunkett opted to contest the seat of Darlington.
At the 1960 state election
, the fast-growing Southport seat was split into Albert in the north and South Coast
in the south. Further urban growth pushed the seat progressively northwards.
Its present boundaries, as at the 2009 election
, take in mostly urban, semi-urban and industrial areas west of the Pacific Motorway
extending from Mount Warren Park
and Windaroo
in southern Logan to Coomera
and Oxenford
in the outer northern Gold Coast.
Queensland Legislative Assembly
The Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
electorate in the state
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. Albert is named for the Albert River, which runs through the electorate and separates Logan City from Gold Coast City. It was first created in a redistribution in 1887 ahead of the 1888 state election, and apart from a ten-year break in the 1950s, has existed ever since.
Its consistently changing boundaries together with its existence in a high-growth area do not provide consistent political leanings over time, although it has shown more inclination towards the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
over time than any other Gold Coast seat.
The present Member, Margaret Keech
Margaret Keech
Margaret Majella Keech is an Australian politician and is a member of for the Labor Party.In 2001 she was the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for the seat of Albert and is currently the Government Whip...
, was first elected in the 2001 election. She is the Government Whip in the government of Anna Bligh
Anna Bligh
Anna Maria Bligh is an Australian politician and the Premier of Queensland since 2007. The 2009 Queensland state election was the first time a female-led political party won or retained state or federal government in Australia...
.
History
Historically, the Gold Coast and Logan regions were sparsely populated agricultural areas, and the Albert electorate covered the entire south-eastern corner of the state. Its representation broadly reflected the conservative leanings and rural interests of its population, and John AppelJohn Appel
John George Appel was an Australian politician, lawyer, and farmer. He served from 1908-1929 as a delegate for the electoral district of Albert and from 1909-1915 as the Secretary of Mine and Public Works and Home Secretary of Queensland....
, who served in both the Second Kidston Ministry
Second Kidston Ministry
The Second Kidston Ministry was the 25th ministry of the Government of Queensland and was led by Premier William Kidston. It succeeded the Second Philp Ministry on 18 February 1908, 13 days after the 1908 state election...
and Denham Ministry
Denham Ministry
The Denham Ministry was the 26th ministry of the Government of Queensland and was led by Premier Digby Denham, who led the Ministerialist party consisting of a mixture of liberals and conservatives. It succeeded the Kidston Ministry on 7 February 1911...
, participated in the formation of both the Queensland Farmers' Union from the rural caucus of the Ministerialist party in 1915 and the subsequent Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
in 1919.
The seat's boundaries evolved thus:
- Prior to 1920, the seat covered the entire modern Gold Coast City plus BeaudesertBeaudesert, QueenslandBeaudesert is a town located on the Mount Lindesay Highway, some 64 km south of Brisbane. It is possibly named after Beau Desert Park, the property of Charles Henry Alexander Paget, 6th Marquess of Anglesey in Staffordshire, England...
and JimboombaJimboomba, QueenslandJimboomba is a growing town of approximately 6,288 people, as recorded in the 2006 census, in the Logan City Local Government Area, South East Queensland, Australia. It is situated on the Mount Lindesay Highway, 47 km south of Brisbane central business district...
. - At the 1920 election, it lost Beaudesert and Jimboomba to the neighbouring seat of Fassifern, and moved north to cover all of what is now Logan City.
- At the 1932 election, it lost the Logan area, and regained Jimboomba.
- At the 1935 election, it lost Jimboomba, and gained all of what is now Redland City, including North Stradbroke IslandNorth Stradbroke IslandNorth Stradbroke Island is an Australian island in the state of Queensland, 30 km southeast of the capital Brisbane. Before 1896 the island was part of the Stradbroke Island. In that year a storm separated it from South Stradbroke Island, forming the Jumpinpin Channel. It is known...
, from the seat of WynnumElectoral district of WynnumWynnum was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland from 1923 to 1986.The district was based in the eastern suburbs of Brisbane and named for the suburb of Wynnum.-Members for Wynnum:...
.
It was split up in the 1949 redistribution ahead of the 1950 state election
Queensland state election, 1950
Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 29 April 1950 to elect the 75 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government was seeking its seventh continuous term in office since the 1932 election; it would be Premier Ned Hanlon second election.The Assembly had...
into Darlington
Electoral district of Darlington
Darlington was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, created in 1894 with the division of the multi-member district of Redfern and named after and including the inner Sydney suburb of Darlington. It was abolished in 1904 with the downsizing of...
, which included Redland, Logan, Beaudesert, Coomera
Coomera, Queensland
Coomera is a suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 Census, Coomera had a population of 1,420. The name Coomera comes from the Aboriginal word for fern....
, Jimboomba and Tamborine; and Southport
Electoral district of Southport
The district of Southport is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland.The district is based in the northern part of the Gold Coast. It is named for the suburb of Southport, and also includes the suburbs of Arundel, Ernest, Labrador, Molendinar and...
which was limited to the Gold Coast and its hinterland. Both seats remained safe for the Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
; Plunkett opted to contest the seat of Darlington.
At the 1960 state election
Queensland state election, 1960
Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 28 May 1960 to elect the 78 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The election followed the enactment of the Electoral Districts Act 1958 which increased the Assembly from 75 to 78 seats and modified the zonal system first...
, the fast-growing Southport seat was split into Albert in the north and South Coast
Electoral district of South Coast
South Coast is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Shelley Hancock of the Liberal Party of Australia.-Members for South Coast:-Election results:...
in the south. Further urban growth pushed the seat progressively northwards.
Its present boundaries, as at the 2009 election
Queensland state election, 2009
The Queensland state election was held to elect members to the unicameral Parliament of Queensland on 21 March 2009. The election saw the incumbent Labor government led by Premier Anna Bligh defeat the Liberal National Party of Queensland led by Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg, and gain a...
, take in mostly urban, semi-urban and industrial areas west of the Pacific Motorway
Pacific Motorway
The Pacific Motorway is a 100 km long motorway in Australia between Brisbane, Queensland, and the New South Wales-Queensland border at Tweed Heads. The motorway starts at Coronation Drive at Milton in Brisbane, and from 2008 links the Tweed Heads bypass in New South Wales...
extending from Mount Warren Park
Mount Warren Park, Queensland
Mount Warren Park is a residential suburb in the outer southern areas of Logan City in Queensland, Australia the outer southern region of the Greater Brisbane Area.-External links:*...
and Windaroo
Windaroo, Queensland
Windaroo is a residential suburb in the outer southern areas of Logan City in Queensland, Australia, in the outer southern metropolitan area of Greater Brisbane.-Development:...
in southern Logan to Coomera
Coomera, Queensland
Coomera is a suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 Census, Coomera had a population of 1,420. The name Coomera comes from the Aboriginal word for fern....
and Oxenford
Oxenford, Queensland
Oxenford is a suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 Census, Oxenford had a population of 9,007.The suburb is bordered to the north by the Coomera River; the Pacific Motorway forms the eastern boundary. The western edge of the suburb is also bordered by the Coomera River,...
in the outer northern Gold Coast.
Members for Albert
| First incarnation (1888-1950) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Term | |
| Thomas Plunkett Sr. | Conservative | 1888–1890 | |
| Ministerialist | 1890–1896 | ||
| Robert Collins | Independent | 1896–1899 | |
| Thomas Plunkett Sr. | Opposition | 1899–1903 | |
| Liberal | 1903–1907 | ||
| Kidston | 1907–1908 | ||
| John Appel John Appel John George Appel was an Australian politician, lawyer, and farmer. He served from 1908-1929 as a delegate for the electoral district of Albert and from 1909-1915 as the Secretary of Mine and Public Works and Home Secretary of Queensland.... |
Conservative | 1908–1909 | |
| Ministerial/Qld. Liberal | 1909–1915 | ||
| Farmers' Union | 1915–1917 | ||
| Nationalist Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime... |
1917–1919 | ||
| Country National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is... |
1919–1922 | ||
| United | 1922–1925 | ||
| CPNP Country and Progressive National Party The Country and Progressive National Party was a short-lived conservative political party in the Australian state of Queensland.-History:It was created in 1925 as the result of a merger between the state's two conservative parties, the United Party and the Country Party, in an attempt to end... |
1925–1929 | ||
| Thomas Plunkett Jr. | CPNP Country and Progressive National Party The Country and Progressive National Party was a short-lived conservative political party in the Australian state of Queensland.-History:It was created in 1925 as the result of a merger between the state's two conservative parties, the United Party and the Country Party, in an attempt to end... |
1929–1936 | |
| Country National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is... |
1936–1950 | ||
| Second incarnation (1960-present) | |||
| Member | Party | Term | |
| Cec Carey | Country National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is... |
1960–1969 | |
| Bill Heatley | Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
1970–1971 | |
| Bill D'Arcy Bill D'Arcy William Theodore "Bill" D'Arcy is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Albert and Woodridge in the Queensland Legislative Assembly.... |
Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
1972–1974 | |
| Ivan Gibbs Ivan Gibbs Ivan James Gibbs was an Australian politician, who was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of electoral district of Albert for the National Party of Australia from 1974 to 1989. He held the Health portfolio in the last days of the Bjelke-Petersen... |
National National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is... |
1974–1989 | |
| John Szczerbanik | Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
1989–1995 | |
| Bill Baumann Bill Baumann William Francis "Bill" Baumann is a former Australian politician. He was the National Party member for Albert in the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 2001.... |
National National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is... |
1995–2001 | |
| Margaret Keech Margaret Keech Margaret Majella Keech is an Australian politician and is a member of for the Labor Party.In 2001 she was the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for the seat of Albert and is currently the Government Whip... |
Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
2001–present | |
Election results
External links
- Electorate Profile (Antony Green, ABC)