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| Division of Durack | |
|---|---|
| Name | Durack |
| State | Western Australia |
| Created | 2008 |
| Mp | Melissa Price |
| Mp party | Liberal Party of Australia |
| Namesake | Dame Mary Durack |
| Area | 1294626 |
| Electors | 119000 |
| Class | Rural |
Division of Durack The Division of Durack is an Australian federal electoral division in Western Australia created at the 2008 redistribution and first contested at the 2010 federal election. It is named after Dame Mary Durack, a Western Australian novelist and historian associated with Perth, Fitzroy Crossing, Broome and the Kimberley region. The division covers an extensive area of northern and central Western Australia, encompassing remote communities, regional centres and large pastoral leases.
Durack was established during the 2008 redistribution conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission to reflect population changes in Western Australia and the redistribution principles under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Its inaugural contest in 2010 followed demographic shifts related to mining booms in the Pilbara and population movements around Perth and the Wheatbelt. The creation of Durack altered boundaries of neighbouring divisions such as O'Connor, Kalgoorlie, Pearce and Forrest, affecting incumbents from the Liberal Party of Australia, National Party of Australia and independent figures. Redistributions since 2008 have been driven by enrolment reviews and statutory quotas overseen by the Australian Electoral Commission and influenced by census results from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Durack spans approximately 1,294,626 square kilometres, making it one of the largest electoral divisions in Australia by land area and comparable to divisions covering remote regions like Lingiari and O'Connor. Its boundaries extend from the northern coastline near Broome and Karratha southwards to include parts of the Wheatbelt and Goldfields-Esperance regions. Major geographic features within Durack include parts of the Kimberley, the Pilbara, and sections of the Great Sandy Desert. Boundaries have at times abutted the Indian Ocean, the Indian Ocean Territory maritime approaches and adjacent state electorates, and they are periodically adjusted via redistributions by the Australian Electoral Commission to reflect population shifts recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The electorate encompasses a diverse population including Indigenous communities from groups associated with the Noongar, Yamatji, Bunuba, Karajarri, Kija and Gija language groups and residents of regional centres such as Geraldton, Broome, Karratha, Port Hedland and Derby. Economic migration related to resource projects driven by companies like BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Woodside Petroleum has influenced population composition. Census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates a mix of remote Indigenous communities, pastoral leaseholders, mining camp populations and service-industry workers associated with tourism in locales linked to Ningaloo Reef and cultural tourism around Broome. Elector enrolment patterns reflect seasonal workforce movements tied to operations at ports like Port Hedland and transport links connected to the Great Northern Highway and the North West Coastal Highway.
Since its creation, Durack has been represented by members of the Liberal Party of Australia in the Australian House of Representatives. Its representatives have engaged with federal portfolios and parliamentary committees addressing northern development, Indigenous affairs overseen by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and resource-sector regulation involving agencies like the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. The seat interacts politically with state electorates in Western Australia and with federal policy debates influenced by stakeholders including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia and regional councils such as the Shire of Broome and Shire of Ashburton.
Electoral contests in Durack have reflected voting trends influenced by regional economic cycles, with primary vote swings linked to issues concerning resource royalties debated in the Parliament of Australia and local infrastructure funding decisions involving the Australian Government and state authorities in Western Australia. Preferential voting outcomes have involved candidates from the Liberal Party of Australia, the National Party of Australia, the Australian Labor Party and various independents and minor parties including the Katter's Australian Party and the Greens at different elections. Redistributions and enrolment changes notified by the Australian Electoral Commission have affected margin calculations and campaign strategies in successive federal elections.
Durack's economy is driven by sectors anchored in resource extraction with major operations from companies like BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Woodside Petroleum, agriculture including pastoral leases and wheat farming around Geraldton, and tourism linked to attractions such as Ningaloo Reef and intertidal ecosystems near Broome. Infrastructure priorities include port facilities at Port Hedland and Karratha, road corridors like the Great Northern Highway and rail links serving ore transport connected to the Pilbara iron ore industry. Federal investment programs administered by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications and regional development initiatives involving the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility have targeted telecommunications, air services to remote communities and water-security projects supporting pastoral operations.
Notable places within the division include the coastal town of Broome with its heritage linked to the pearling industry and the Broome Historical Museum, the marine biodiversity hotspot Ningaloo Reef, the tidal flats and mudflats used by migratory shorebirds protected under agreements like the Ramsar Convention in nearby wetlands, and pastoral homesteads in the Kimberley and Pilbara. Regional centres such as Geraldton, Karratha and Port Hedland host port infrastructure, museums, and cultural sites associated with Indigenous art centres linked to organisations like the Art Gallery of Western Australia and community-based cultural agencies in Derby and Fitzroy Crossing.
Category:Electoral divisions of Australia Category:Western Australia