Burwood: Labor hopes to ride train to victory

Deakin University, Matthew Evans

LOCATION

The Burwood electorate is in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, 13km from Melbourne CBD.

SIZE OF ELECTORATE

25 square kilometres.

BOUNDARIES

The northern boundary runs along Canterbury Road through Box Hill. The boundary runs south along Middleborough Road separating Burwood and Burwood East, then west along Highbury Road and then continuing south along Huntingdale Road through Mount Waverley down to the Monash Freeway. The boundary runs just inside the Monash Freeway before meeting the Railway line past Glen Eris.

The Burwood electorate borders the electorates of Box Hill, Forest Hill, Mount Waverley, Oakleigh, Malvern, and Hawthorn.

SUBURBS IN THE ELECTORATE

 Ashburton
 Ashwood
 Box Hill South
 Burwood
 Parts of Camberwell
 Parts of Chadstone
 Parts of Glen Iris
 Parts of Surrey Hills.

CURRENT MP

The ALP’s Graeme Watt. He was elected at the 2010 Victorian State Election.

UPPER HOUSE REGION

Southern Metropolitan Region.

COUNCILS

The electorate of Burwood has three councils within; Boroondara City Council, Whitehorse City Council, and Monash City Council.

HISTORY OF THE SEAT

The electorate has mainly been held by the Liberal Party since it was established in 1955. The seat was abolished in 1967, but was re-established in 1976, and won then by the Liberal Party, which held it until 1999. The Labor Party then had the seat for 11 years, before the Liberal Party won it back at the 2010 State election.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE 2014 STATE ELECTION?

In the 2014 election, there was a 3.1 per cent swing against the Liberal Party’s Graham Watt but he won the seat 53.17% over Labor’s Gavin Ryan 46.83% on a two-party preferred basis. Two other candidates (Beck Stuart or the Greens, and Peter Campbell and independent) contested the seat. Total enrolment in Burwood was 41,878.

2014 Election Results – Burwood [Source VEC]
ISSUES

Public transport is set to be the hot topic in the electorate this year with the Labour government’s announcement of its plan to build the Suburban Rail Loop. The $50 billion project includes an underground station in Burwood and this is something ALP candidate Will Fowles is sure to be highlighting during his campaigning.