Central Highlands Province

Central Highlands Province was an electorate of the Legislative Council of Victoria, Australia. It existed as a two-member electorate from 1976 to 2006, with members holding alternating eight-year terms. It was a safe seat for the Liberal Party for most of its history, but was a surprise gain for the Labor Party in their landslide victory at the 2002 state election. The electorate was abolished in the Bracks Labor government's reform of the Legislative Council.

It covered a broad area of the state between the outer fringes of Melbourne and the Victorian Alps. In 2002, when it was last contested, it covered an area of 24,164 km2 and included the towns and suburbs of Alexandra, Benalla, Bright, Broadford, Coldstream, Diamond Creek, Euroa, Healesville, Hurstbridge, Lilydale, Mansfield, Marysville, Mount Beauty, Plenty, Seymour, Yan Yean, Yarra Glen and Yea.

Members for Central Highlands Province

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Member 1 Party Year
  Jock Granter Liberal 1976 Member 2 Party
1979   Fred Grimwade Liberal
1982
1985
1987   Marie Tehan Liberal
  Geoff Craige Liberal 1988
1992   Graeme Stoney Liberal
1996
1999
  Rob Mitchell Labor 2002

Election results

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2002 Victorian state election: Central Highlands Province
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Rob Mitchell 57,245 44.3 +1.1
Liberal Cath Marriott 48,352 37.4 −16.6
Greens Janet MacKenzie 12,206 9.4 +8.4
National Rozi Parisotto 9,563 7.4 +6.5
Democrats Jos Vandersman 1,925 1.5 +0.8
Total formal votes 129,291 96.7 −0.2
Informal votes 4,470 3.3 +0.2
Turnout 133,761 94.1
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Rob Mitchell 70,460 54.5 +9.8
Liberal Cath Marriott 58,831 45.5 −9.8
Labor gain from Liberal Swing +9.8