Electoral district of Bulleen

Bulleen
VictoriaLegislative Assembly
Location of Bulleen (dark green) in Greater Melbourne
StateVictoria
Created1985
MPMatthew Guy
PartyLiberal Party
NamesakeBulleen
Electors44,110 (2018)
Area39 km2 (15.1 sq mi)
DemographicMetropolitan

The electoral district of Bulleen is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It covers an area of 39 square kilometres (15 sq mi) in eastern Melbourne, including the suburbs of Bulleen, Doncaster, Templestowe Lower, and part of Templestowe. It lies within the Eastern Metropolitan Region of the upper house, the Legislative Council.[1]

Bulleen was created in 1985, and has been a safe seat for the Liberal Party since its inception. It was won at its first election by David Perrin, the outgoing secretary of the Victorian Dairy Industry Authority.[2] Perrin served four terms as member for the seat, and was an outspoken conservative backbencher during the Kennett government, opposing Kennett on drug reform, euthanasia, and gay and lesbian anti-discrimination laws. In 1999, Perrin lost Liberal preselection to former Kennett adviser Nicholas Kotsiras in a bitter contest which saw numerous claims of branch stacking.[3][4][5]

Kotsiras subsequently also served four terms as member for Bulleen. He held many shadow portfolios in opposition between 2002 and 2010, and served as a minister in both the Baillieu and Napthine governments from 2010 to 2014. He held the roles of Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship from 2010 to 2014, and Minister for Energy and Resources from 2013 to 2014. In early 2014, Kotsiras announced that he would retire at the 2014 election, and resigned from the ministry in March.[6][7]

Kotsiras was succeeded as member for Bulleen by then-Legislative Council member and Minister for Planning Matthew Guy, who successfully switched to the Legislative Assembly.[8][9] Guy was elected Opposition Leader in December 2014 in the aftermath of the Liberal government's election defeat.[10]

  1. ^ "Bulleen District profile". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  2. ^ "David John Perrin". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  3. ^ Magazinik, Michael (12 November 1998). "Kennett's orders – prepare for early poll". The Australian.
  4. ^ Owen, Kristin (15 July 1999). "Lib HQ dips into poll stacking row". Herald-Sun.
  5. ^ Hannan, Ewin (13 August 1999). "Bush trips delay poll date". The Age.
  6. ^ "Nicholas Kotsiras". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Victoria Cabinet reshuffle: Napthine names new ministers". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Multicultural Affairs Minister Kotsiras to retire as Matthew Guy set to bid for seat". Herald-Sun. 12 January 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Bulleen – Victorian Election 2014". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  10. ^ Smethurst, Annika (4 December 2014). "Matthew Guy defeats Michael O'Brien in Liberal leadership ballot". Herald-Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 10 December 2014.