North West Central is an

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The district is mostly based in the rural north-west of

. It is currently a marginal seat for the Nationals.

History

First known as North West Coastal, the district was first created for the 2005 state election, incorporating territory from the abolished districts of Burrup and

Ningaloo The Ningaloo Coast is a World Heritage Site located in the North West Australia, north west coastal region of Western Australia. The heritage-listed area is located approximately north of Perth, along the Indian Ocean, East Indian Ocean. The d ...

. The seat was won by Labor MP, and then member for Burrup,

Fred Riebeling Fredrick Riebeling (born 29 January 1953) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1992 to 2008. Riebeling was born in Bridgetown. Before becoming a member of parliament, he was a ...

. The district was expanded for the 2008 state election, incorporating more inland territory which resulted in the name change to North West. With Riebeling's decision to retire, the contest pitted Labor MP

Vince Catania Vincent Alexander Catania (born 23 February 1977) is an Australian former politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 2008 to 2022. He was previously a member of the Legislative Council from 2005 to 2008. ...

, then a member of the Legislative Council, against Liberal candidate, and former Ningaloo MP,

Rod Sweetman Rodney Noel Sweetman (born 21 June 1953) is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 2005. Sweetman was born in the Perth suburb of Subiaco. He was first elected to stat ...

, with Catania emerging victorious. On 20 July 2009, Catania announced his decision to leave the Labor Party to join the rival National Party. The 2013 state election saw the Labor-leaning

Shire of Roebourne The City of Karratha is one of the four local government areas in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It covers an area of and had a population of about 21,500 as at the 2016 Census, most of which is located in its seat of government, the ...

transferred to the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

while taking more central areas of the state including the shires of

Sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

and Wiluna, increasing National's hold on the seat. The increase in terms of area in the central part of the state saw yet another name change to North West Central. Catania resigned on 8 August 2022, resulting in the 2022 North West Central state by-election, which was retained for the Nationals by Merome Beard.

Geography

Based in the remote north-west of Western Australia, the district includes the towns of Carnarvon, Coral Bay, Cue, Denham,

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

, Meekatharra,

Mount Magnet Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

, Onslow, Paraburdoo,

, Tom Price, Warburton, Wiluna and Yalgoo.

Members

Election results

References

External links