Electoral district of North West Central
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North West Central is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia.
| North West Central Western Australia—Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location of North West Central (dark green) in Western Australia | |||||||||||||||
| State | Western Australia | ||||||||||||||
| Dates current | 2005–present1 | ||||||||||||||
| MP | Merome Beard | ||||||||||||||
| Party | Liberal | ||||||||||||||
| Namesake | North-west region of Western Australia | ||||||||||||||
| Electors | 10,993 (2021) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 820,591 km2 (316,832.0 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Demographic | Rural, remote and provincial | ||||||||||||||
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| Footnotes | |||||||||||||||
| 1 known as North West Coastal 2005–2008 and North West 2008–2013 | |||||||||||||||
The district is mostly based in the rural north-west of Western Australia. It is currently a marginal seat for the Nationals.
First known as North West Coastal, the district was first created for the 2005 state election, incorporating territory from the abolished districts of Burrup and Ningaloo. The seat was won by Labor MP, and then member for Burrup, Fred Riebeling.
The district was expanded for the 2008 state election, incorporating more inland territory which resulted in the name change to North West. With Riebeling's decision to retire, the contest pitted Labor MP Vince Catania, then a member of the Legislative Council, against Liberal candidate, and former Ningaloo MP, Rod Sweetman, with Catania emerging victorious. On 20 July 2009, Catania announced his decision to leave the Labor Party to join the rival National Party.[1]
The 2013 state election saw the Labor-leaning Shire of Roebourne transferred to the Pilbara while taking more central areas of the state including the shires of Sandstone and Wiluna, increasing National's hold on the seat. The increase in terms of area in the central part of the state saw yet another name change to North West Central.
Catania resigned on 8 August 2022, resulting in the 2022 North West Central state by-election,[2][3] which was retained for the Nationals by Merome Beard.[4] On 31 October 2023, Beard announced her decision to leave the National Party to join the Liberal Party.[5]
Based in the remote north-west of Western Australia, the district includes the towns of Carnarvon, Coral Bay, Cue, Denham, Exmouth, Meekatharra, Mount Magnet, Onslow, Paraburdoo, Sandstone, Tom Price, Warburton, Wiluna and Yalgoo.
| North West Coastal (2005–2008) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | Term | |
| Fred Riebeling | Labor | 2005–2008 | |
| North West (2008–2013) | |||
| Member | Party | Term | |
| Vince Catania | Labor | 2008–2009 | |
| National | 2009–2013 | ||
| North West Central (2013–present) | |||
| Member | Party | Term | |
| Vince Catania | National | 2013–2022 | |
| Merome Beard | National | 2022–2023 | |
| Liberal | 2023–present | ||
- Division of Durack for the Australian House of Representatives, the largest Federal division by area
- ^ "Catania quits Labor to join Nationals - ABC News".
- ^ Bourke, Keane (9 August 2022). "Nationals MP Vince Catania hands in resignation for WA seat of North West Central". ABC News. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Law, Peter (9 August 2022). "WA Labor to skip North West Central by-election amid tension between Mark McGowan and Alannah MacTiernan". The West Australian. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Ferguson, Kate; Carmody, James (17 September 2022). "Western Australian Nationals candidate Merome Beard named winner in North West Central by-election". ABC News. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Nationals MP Merome Beard quits party to join Liberals, throwing opposition alliance into doubt - ABC News".
- ^ 2022 North West Central By-election, WAEC
- ^ 2021 State General Election – North West Central District Results, WAEC
- Antony Green. "2008 Election Profile: North West". ABC.
- "Map of North West (2008–)". boundaries.wa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014.
- Antony Green. "2005 Election Profile: North West Coastal". ABC.
- "Map of North West Coastal (2005–2008)". boundaries.wa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014.