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Electoral district of Churchlands

Churchlands is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Churchlands is named for the western suburb of Churchlands, which falls within its borders, and was created at the 1994 redistribution, replacing the seat of Floreat which had existed since 1968.[1]

It was held for most of its history by Liz Constable, the independent former member for Floreat who had won the predecessor seat in a 1991 by-election. However, the seat's demographics suggested it was a strongly Liberal seat on paper, and it was taken for granted Constable would be succeeded by a Liberal once she retired. Constable retired at the 2013 election, and was succeeded as expected by Liberal Sean L'Estrange. L'Estrange held the seat until his unexpected defeat by Christine Tonkin in 2021.

Demographics

Churchlands and the neighbouring electorates of Nedlands to the southeast and Cottesloe to the southwest comprise the affluent western suburbs of Perth—the Australian Bureau of Statistics's SEIFA index (2001) ranked them as the highest three electorates by socio-economic status in Western Australia, with high scores on educational and employment opportunity. At the 2006 census, the median individual income in the Churchlands electorate, based on its 2005 boundaries, was $607 per week compared to $513 in the Perth metropolitan area, and the median weekly household income was $1,115 compared to $1,086 across Perth. 45.4% of the population were professionals or managers.[2]

All three seats were considered comfortably safe Liberal seats, until the 2021 state election, and they are almost entirely within the federal seat of Curtin, which was safe Liberal as well until teal independent Kate Chaney won it in 2022.

Members for Churchlands

Image Member Party Term Notes
 
OIC churchlands liz constable office.jpg
 Liz Constable
(1943–) 		Independent 14 December 1996 –
9 March 2013 		Transferred from the electoral district of Floreat. Retired
 
Pic Sean L'Estrange.jpg
 Sean L'Estrange
(1967–) 		Liberal 9 March 2013 –
13 March 2021 		Lost seat
  Christine Tonkin
(1956–) 		Labor 13 March 2021 –
8 March 2025 		Lost seat
 
Basil Zempilas.jpg
 Basil Zempilas
(1971–) 		Liberal 8 March 2025 –
present 		Incumbent

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Churchlands
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2025 Western Australian state election (Legislative Assembly) § Churchlands.[]
2025 Western Australian state election: Churchlands[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Basil Zempilas 12,199 43.7 +0.5
Labor Christine Tonkin 8,049 28.8 −11.4
Independent Lisa Thornton 3,912 14.0 +14.0
Greens Caroline McLean 2,838 10.2 −0.2
Christians James Rai 477 1.7 +0.2
Independent Anthony Fels 268 1.0 +1.0
Fusion Tian Carrie-Wilson 169 0.6 +0.6
Total formal votes 27,912 97.1 −0.3
Informal votes 823 2.9 +0.3
Turnout 28,735 90.2 +3.5
Two-party-preferred result
Liberal Basil Zempilas 14,271 51.1 +2.7
Labor Christine Tonkin 13,635 48.9 −2.7
Liberal gain from Labor Swing +2.7

References

  1. ^ "Electoral Distributions Act 1947 - Division of the State into Six Electoral Regions and 57 Electoral Districts by the Electoral Distribution Commissioners". Western Australia Government Gazette. 28 November 1994. p. 1994:6135-6327.
  2. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Community Profile Series: Churchlands (North Metropolitan) (State Electoral Division)". 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
    * Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Community Profile Series: Perth (Statistical Division)". 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  3. ^ 2025 State General Election – Churchlands District Results, WAEC. Retrieved 2 April 2025.