Electoral district of Heysen

Heysen South Australia—House of Assembly
Map of South Australia with electoral district of Heysen highlighted Electoral district of Heysen (green) in the Greater Adelaide area
State	South Australia
Dates current	1970–1977, 1985–present
MP	Isobel Redmond
Party	Liberal Party of Australia (SA)
Namesake	Sir Hans Heysen
Electors	25,405 (2014)
Area	1,102 km2 (425.5 sq mi)
Demographic	Metropolitan
Coordinates

Heysen is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Sir Hans Heysen, a prominent South Australian landscape artist. It is a 1,102 km² electoral district that takes in a small amount of southern suburbs of Adelaide before fanning south-east to include farming areas some distance from the capital. It includes the areas of Aldgate, Bridgewater, Echunga, Hahndorf, Macclesfield, Meadows, Stirling and Strathalbyn. It is classed as a metropolitan seat.

As Heysen combines both wealthier suburbs in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills and rural areas further east, it has been a stronghold for the Liberal Party and its predecessor, the Liberal and Country League, ever since its creation in the electoral redistribution of 1969 as a replacement for Stirling. It was first contested at the 1970 election. It was abolished at the 1977 election, forcing then-member David Wotton to move to the seat of Murray. However, Wotton returned to Heysen when it was re-established at the 1985 election. He subsequently held the seat until his retirement in 2002, when he was replaced by current member Isobel Redmond.

The 1997 election saw the Democrats receive 48.1 percent of the two-candidate preferred vote, the closest they had ever come to a seat any Australian lower house (apart from the South Australian seat of Mitcham). The 2002 election saw the Democrats receive 46 percent of the two-candidate preferred vote. The 2006 election saw their vote collapse with Labor being brought back into the two-candidate race. Out of 47 lower house seats, the SA Greens have consistently polled strongest in Heysen. Greens candidate Lynton Vonow came within a few percent of winning the overlapping federal seat of Mayo at the 2008 by-election. Vonow contested Heysen for the Greens at the 2014 election and overtook the Labor candidate coming second after preferences with a 39 percent two-candidate preferred vote from a 19.7 percent primary vote. The Greens also polled well in neighbouring seats such as Kavel and Davenport with primary votes over 15 percent.

Members for Heysen

First incarnation (1970–1977)
Member		Party	Term
	William McAnaney	Liberal and Country	1970–1974
		Liberal	1974–1975
	David Wotton	Liberal	1975–1977
Second incarnation (1985–present)
Member		Party	Term
	David Wotton	Liberal	1985–2002
	Isobel Redmond	Liberal	2002–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Heysen

South Australian state election, 2014: Heysen

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Isobel Redmond	12,768	55.5	−2.4
	Greens	Lynton Vonow	4,527	19.7	+2.7
	Labor	Paul Yiallouros	4,527	19.7	−0.1
	Dignity for Disability	Amy Park	1,192	5.2	+5.2
Total formal votes			23,014	97.3	−0.1
Informal votes			630	2.7	+0.1
Turnout			23,644	93.1	−0.7
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Isobel Redmond	14,619	63.5	−3.0
	Labor	Paul Yiallouros	8,395	36.5	+3.0
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Liberal	Isobel Redmond	14,040	61.0	−5.5
	Greens	Lynton Vonow	8,974	39.0	+39.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

References

• ABC profile for Heysen: 2014
• ECSA profile for Heysen: 2014
• Poll Bludger profile for Heysen: 2014