Electoral district of Albert

For the former electoral district in South Australia, see Electoral district of Albert (South Australia).

Albert Queensland—Legislative Assembly
300px Brisbane Central (2008—)
State	Queensland
Dates current	1888–1950, 1960–present
MP	Mark Boothman
Party	Liberal National
Namesake	Albert River
Electors	36,716 (2015)
Area	235 km2 (90.7 sq mi)
Coordinates

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 City of Gold Coast. It was first created in a redistribution in 1887 ahead of the 1888 colonial election and continued to exist (with various boundary alterations) until 1949, when the Darlington and Southport electorates were created. In 1959, the electorate was established again and exists to this day. The 1971 and 1977 redistributions greatly reduced the area of the electorate and minor changes were made in 1991, including the loss of Carbrook in the north and coastal areas below Paradise Point in the south.

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 for Albert, Mark Boothman, was first elected in the 2012 election.

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 Appel, 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:

• Prior to 1920, the seat covered the entire modern City of Gold Coast plus Beaudesert and Jimboomba.
• 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 Island, from the seat of Wynnum.

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.

Members for Albert

Main article: Electoral results for the district of 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	Conservative	1908–1909
		Ministerial/Qld. Liberal	1909–1915
		Farmers' Union	1915–1917
		Nationalist	1917–1919
		Country	1919–1922
		United	1922–1925
		CPNP	1925–1929
	Thomas Flood Plunkett	CPNP	1929–1936
		Country	1936–1950
Second incarnation (1960–present)
Member		Party	Term
	Cec Carey	Country	1960–1969
	Bill Heatley	Liberal	1970–1971
	Bill D'Arcy	Labor	1972–1974
	Ivan Gibbs	National	1974–1989
	John Szczerbanik	Labor	1989–1995
	Bill Baumann	National	1995–2001
	Margaret Keech	Labor	2001–2012
	Mark Boothman	Liberal National	2012–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Albert

Queensland state election, 2015: Albert

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal National	Mark Boothman	13,597	43.13	−6.46
	Labor	Melissa McMahon	11,145	35.35	+6.99
	Palmer United	Blair Brewster	3,428	10.87	+10.87
	Greens	Jane Cajdler	1,923	6.10	+0.70
	Family First	Amanda Best	1,434	4.55	−1.24
Total formal votes			31,527	97.21	+0.04
Informal votes			906	2.79	−0.04
Turnout			32,433	88.33	−3.09
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal National	Mark Boothman	14,872	51.67	−10.22
	Labor	Melissa McMahon	13,911	48.33	+10.22
	Liberal National hold		Swing	−10.22

Arms

Arms of Electoral district of Albert

Adopted 1977 Crest Kangaroo while the sugar canes. Escutcheon The shield displays a background of gold and green, depicting the close proximity of the Gold Coast with its beaches, and the Shire, with its lush forests and farmlands. The caducaeus, rod of Mercury, God of commerce, and the hammer for industry in general, lie between two heads alluding to the beef and dairy industries. The four bands in the chief symbolize the Shire's Strategic Plan, which when combined with the mural crown of civic authority, speak of the Council's commitment to the future welfare of the Shire. Supporters Dexter: a Border Collie; sinister: a German Shepherd. Motto True and Faithful.

External links

• Electorate Profile (Antony Green, ABC)