Current MP: Michael Danby, Labor. 117 Fitzroy Street St Kilda West 3182 9534 8126
Major Communities/Cities/Towns within Electorate: Albert Park, Balaclava, Caulfield, Caulfield East, Caulfield North, part of Elsternwick, Elwood, Middle Park, Port Melbourne, Ripponlea, St Kilda, St Kilda East, St Kilda West, Southbank, South Melbourne and parts of South Yarra and Docklands.
Key 2016 Election Information: -2.2% swing. 41.9% Liberal, 27.0% Labor, 23.8% Green on first party preference voting.
Strongest Support* for Labor (two-party-preferred, circled in red on map below): Ripponlea North (ALP 68.3%), St Kilda (ALP 68.04%) and St Kilda South (ALP 65.81%).
Strongest Support* for Liberals (two-party-preferred, circled in blue on map below): Caulfield North (55.27%), Kerferd (54.39%), Bridport (54.12%).
*Note: 'Strongest support' determined using the following criteria: highest % of two-candidate-preferred votes, excluding pre-polling places and polling booths where the number of votes for the winning candidate was less than 1000 or over 5000. This is one example of how you might identify strategic locations in your electorate - for all 2016 election data, please see the AEC Tally Room website
Background: Michael worked as an editor, political adviser, a ministerial speechwriter and an Industrial Officer. Before entering politics he also served on the Committee of Management of the International Diabetes Institute and the editorial board of the Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council.
Key Policy Background: Michael has served in several Parliamentary roles. Those positions most notable and relevant include Opposition Whip and chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration. From 2011 to 2013 he was Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.
Relevant Information/Links to Community: Michael has considerable links to community groups. With a large proportion of electorate population born overseas, Melbourne Ports represent a diverse electorate. In 1998 the vote in Melbourne Ports for One Nation was the lowest in Australia. In 2010, the Melbourne Ports, Greens Senate vote was the highest in Victoria, after the Melbourne electorate.
Record on Issues Related to Refugees: Michael’s voting record on legislation indicates he has a moderately strong support for refugee rights. He voted very strongly for increasing scrutiny of asylum seeker management, while voting moderately for ending immigration detention on Manus Island and Nauru and implementing refugee and protection conventions. He voted moderately against regional processing, and strongly opposed temporary protection visas.
Other Potential Community and Advocacy Links: According to Michael’s website, he is known for speaking out on international human rights and humanitarian issues. This includes connections to the local Uyghur and Tibetan exile communities.
Key Industries within Electorate: Car assembly plants, aircraft parts production, stevedoring and various manufacturing, commercial and retail industries.
Additional Information: Michael is also a prominent leader and member of Melbourne’s Jewish community. A strong issue within the Jewish community has been the rights of people seeking asylum and refugees. Groups such as Jewish Aid Australia and Jews for Refugees have all actively campaigned on refugee issues.
Vote heat maps: These heat maps represent the voting trends, by party, across the electorate. Each block is a small and equal grouping of voters. Darker areas depict a higher number of votes, for that party, in that block. This data should only be used as a general representation of voting trends in broad areas but not for specific locations.
Sources:
http://www.danbymp.com/about-michael-danby.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/federal-election-2016/guide/mpor/
http://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/vic/melbourne-ports.htm
https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/melbourne_ports/michael_danby
http://theconversation.com/rethinking-the-jewish-vote-in-the-federal-election-17478