Queensland State Election 2012: Bulimba
Electorate: Bulimba
Margin: Labor 7.8%
Region: Inner Brisbane
Federal: Griffith/Bonner
Click here for Electoral Commission of Queensland map
The candidates
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DI FARMER
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Electorate analysis: Bulimba covers inner eastern Brisbane on the south bank of the river, from Galloways Hill through Bulimba to Doboy and south through Morningside to Cannon Hill. Labor is overwhelmingly strong at the eastern end, but the conservative vote gets progressively stronger further away from the city. The electorate has had an uninterrupted existence going back to 1873, having originally occupied most of south-eastern Brisbane. Barring two brief interruptions involving sitting members leaving the party, the seat has been held by Labor since 1932. Pat Purcell held the seat from 1992 to 2009, at which time he was considered likely to be disendorsed had he chosen not to retire as he had faced charges in mid-2007 for assault against two public servants (later withdrawn following mediation), prompting his resignation as Emergency Services Minister. Purcell was succeeded as Labor member by Di Farmer, a speech pathologist and party activist whose prior claim to fame was a preselection stoush with party chieftain Mike Kaiser to succeed the disgraced Bill D’Arcy in Woodridge in 2000. The LNP candidate is Aaron Dillaway, who boasts “15 years’ senior management experience in small to medium sized enterprises”. Dillaway was initially preselected as the party’s candidate for Ashgrove, but was obliged to make way for Campbell Newman.
Bridie Jabour of Fairfax reported that Aaron Dillaway initially reacted to his ejection as LNP candidate for Ashgrove by contemplating running in the seat for the Queensland Party (which has more or less been folded into Katter’s Australian Party), before accepting the LNP’s consolation prize of Bulimba.
Analysis written by William Bowe. Please direct corrections or comments to pollbludger-AT-crikey.com.au. Read William’s blog, The Poll Bludger.