The Electoral district of Dandenong is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

. It was first proclaimed in 1904 when the district of Dandenong and Berwick was abolished.

The seat is currently based around Dandenong

Dandenong, Victoria

Dandenong is a suburb and major urban centre in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 30 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Situated on Dandenong Creek and mostly flat land at the foothills of Mount Dandenong, it is the main administrative centre for the City of...

 and its surrounding suburbs, although in previous years the seat has had a more rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 character. Traditionally it has been a key marginal seat, but since the 1970s demographic changes have made it a safe 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...

 seat. However, during the Kennett government

Jeff Kennett

Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...

 the seat became very marginal again, and at the 1999 election the Liberals put a substantial effort into an ultimately unsuccessful attempt at winning the seat. The neglect of their own marginal seats was seen as one of the reasons why the Coalition

Coalition (Australia)

The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...

 narrowly lost government at that election. http://www.abc.net.au/vic99/electorates/data/profiles/dandenong.htm, http://www.pollbludger.com/356

The current member is John Pandazopoulos

John Pandazopoulos

John Pandazopoulos is a Victorian politician. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly, representing the electorate of Dandenong for the Australian Labor Party. During the Bracks Government, he was a member of Cabinet, serving as Minister for Major Projects, Employment, Tourism, Gaming and Racing...

 who has a 13.9% margin. While still a safe seat, the ALP margin has been steadily declining since reaching it's high point at the 2002 election. Minor parties such as Greens, DLP and Family First captured 20% of the vote at the 2010 election.

Members for Dandenong

Member		Party	Term
	William Keast	Conservative	1904–1917
		Comm Liberal Commonwealth Liberal Party The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....
		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...
	Frank Groves	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...	1917–1929
	Herbert Cremean	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...	1929–1932
	Frank Groves	United Australia United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...	1932–1937
	Frank Field Frank Field (Australian politician) Francis "Frank" Field was an Australian politician.Born in North Carlton to public servant William John Field and Kate Emily Honeybone, he attended St Mary's Primary School in Dandenong and St Kevin's College before studying at Melbourne University, from which he graduated with a Master of Arts...	United Australia United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...	1937–1947
	William Dawnay-Mould	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...	1947–1952
		Electoral Reform League
	Les Coates Les Coates Leslie Robert "Les" Coates was an Australian politician.Born in Brighton to market gardener Robert Brooke Coates and Jane Annie Boxshall, he attended Moorabbin State School and became a cigar maker. Around 1924 he married Hilda Grace Hedberg, with whom he had two children...	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...	1952–1955
	Ray Wiltshire	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...	1955–1958
	Leonard Reid	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...	1958–1969
	Alan Lind	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...	1969–1979
	Rob Jolly	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...	1979–1985
	Terry Norris Terry Norris (actor) Terry Norris is an Australian actor who interrupted his career for 10 years with a stint in state politics.-Acting career:...	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...	1985–1992
	John Pandazopoulos John Pandazopoulos John Pandazopoulos is a Victorian politician. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly, representing the electorate of Dandenong for the Australian Labor Party. During the Bracks Government, he was a member of Cabinet, serving as Minister for Major Projects, Employment, Tourism, Gaming and Racing...	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...	1992–present

Election results

See also

• Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
  Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
  The Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia. Before the formation of the Commonwealth in 1901, the six Australian colonies were self-governing, with parliaments which had come into existence at various...
  
  
• List of members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

External links

• Electorate profile: Dandenong District, Victorian Electoral Commission