Division of Cowan

Cowan Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Cowan in Western Australia, as of the 2021 redistribution.
Created	1984
MP	Anne Aly
Party	Labor
Namesake	Edith Cowan
Electors	98,668 (2019)
Area	180 km2 (69.5 sq mi)
Demographic	Outer Metropolitan

The Division of Cowan is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia.

History[]

Edith Cowan, the division's namesake

The division was created in 1984 and is named for Edith Cowan, the first woman elected to an Australian Parliament. It is located in the northern suburbs of Perth, including the suburbs of Girrawheen, Greenwood, Landsdale and Marangaroo.

It is a marginal seat, changing hands between the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party. Unlike most marginal seats in the east, Cowan is not normally a barometer for winning government, since elections have usually long since been decided by the time counting begins in the west. For this reason, all but one of its members has served at least one term in opposition.

For example, at the 2007 election, the retirement of sitting member Graham Edwards resulted in Labor losing the seat to his Liberal challenger from 2004, Luke Simpkins, even as Labor ended 11 years of Coalition rule. Simpkins retained Cowan by defeating Labor candidate Liz Prime and retained the seat at the 2010 and 2013 elections. A redistribution in 2015 saw Cowan undergo a significant boundary change which saw the Liberal margin drop from a fairly safe 7.5% to a marginal 4.5%. The redistribution saw Labor target the seat at the upcoming 2016 election. At that election the Labor candidate, Anne Aly, became the first Muslim woman elected to the House of Representatives by narrowly defeating Simpkins. Aly retained the seat almost as narrowly in 2019.

Geography[]

Cowan covers an area from Tapping and Wanneroo in the north to Kiara and Lockridge in the south. The division covers parts of the City of Wanneroo and the City of Swan and a minor portion of the City of Joondalup. It includes the suburbs of:^[1]

In August 2021, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) announced that the Wanneroo suburbs of Ashby, Darch, Gnangara, Hocking, Jandabup, Landsdale, Madeley, Pearsall, Sinagra, Tapping, Wangara and Wanneroo and the Swan suburbs of Cullacabardee and a small part of Ballajura would be transferred from Cowan to the seat of Pearce, while the Swan suburbs of Bennett Springs and Whiteman would be transferred to the seat of Hasluck and Cowan's portion of Kingsley would be transferred to the seat of Moore. However, Cowan would gain the Stirling suburbs of Balcatta, Balga, Dianella, Hamersley, Mirrabooka, Nollamara, Stirling, Westminster and part of Osborne Park, along with the Bayswater suburbs of Noranda and part of Morley, from the abolished seat of Stirling. These boundary changes will take place as of the next Australian federal election.^[2]

Members[]

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Carolyn Jakobsen (1947–)	Labor	1 December 1984 – 13 March 1993	Lost seat
		Richard Evans (1953–)	Liberal	13 March 1993 – 3 October 1998	Lost seat
		Graham Edwards (1946–)	Labor	3 October 1998 – 17 October 2007	Previously a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council. Retired. Last veteran of the Vietnam War to serve in the House of Representatives
		Luke Simpkins (1964–)	Liberal	24 November 2007 – 2 July 2016	Lost seat
		Anne Aly (1967–)	Labor	2 July 2016 – present	Incumbent

Election results[]

References[]

External links[]

• Division of Cowan - Australian Electoral Commission

Coordinates: 31°46′55″S 115°50′46″E / 31.782°S 115.846°E / -31.782; 115.846