Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 10 February 2001 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council. The two-term Liberal–National coalition government, led by Premier Richard Court, was defeated by the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Geoff Gallop, in a landslide.
The election produced the biggest change of seats at any election since 1911, with Labor winning 14 seats from the Coalition as well as an Independent-held seat, while losing the seat of Kalgoorlie for the first time since 1923 to Liberal candidate Matt Birney. Meanwhile, a minister in the outgoing Government, Doug Shave, lost his seat of Alfred Cove to Independent candidate Janet Woollard, who was also a member of the Liberals for Forests party.
This was the first election in Western Australian history where the Australian Greens Party overtook the National Party in its share of the state vote.
Results
Legislative Assembly
Notes: At the 1996 election, Labor Party member Larry Graham won the Pilbara seat. He resigned from the party during the term of parliament, and won his seat as an independent in 2001. The retirement of Labor independent Ernie Bridge, whose seat of Kimberley was subsequently won at the election by Labor candidate Carol Martin.
Legislative Council
Notes: At the 1996 election, the Liberals and Nationals ran a combined ticket in two regions, ran separately in a third, and the Liberals ran alone in the remaining three. The two parties received a combined vote of 46.45%. As such, the swing against the Coalition in the Legislative Council was 10.09%.
Seats changing hands
Seat Pre-2001 Swing Post-2001 Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Albany Liberal Kevin Prince 11.9 15.6 3.7 Peter Watson Labor Alfred Cove Liberal Doug Shave 2.49.8 7.4 Janet Woollard Liberals for Forests Ballajura Liberal Rhonda Parker 0.1 5.1 5.0 John D'Orazio Labor Bunbury Liberal Ian Osborne 5.3 6.8 1.5 Tony Dean Labor Collie National Hilda Turnbull 9.3 9.4 0.1 Mick Murray Labor Geraldton Liberal Bob Bloffwitch 7.0 11.3 4.3 Shane Hill Labor Innaloo Liberal George Strickland 4.0 8.5 4.5 John Quigley Labor Joondalup Liberal Chris Baker 5.5 6.3 0.8 Tony O'Gorman Labor Kalgoorlie Labor Megan Anwyl 4.4 5.5 1.1 Matt Birney Liberal Kimberley Independent Ernie Bridge 11.5 22.0 10.5 Carol Martin Labor Mandurah Liberal Roger Nicholls 3.0 7.9 4.9 David Templeman Labor Pilbara Labor Larry Graham 15.7 34.9 19.2 Larry Graham Independent Riverton Liberal Graham Kierath 6.7 9.7 3.0 Tony McRae Labor Roleystone Liberal Fred Tubby 7.2 12.1 4.9 Martin Whitely Labor Southern River Liberal Monica Holmes 1.5 4.9 3.4 Paul Andrews Labor Swan Hills Liberal June van de Klashorst 9.7 11.7 2.0 Jaye Radisich Labor Wanneroo Liberal Iain MacLean 1.6 7.5 5.9 Dianne Guise Labor Yokine Liberal Kim Hames 3.2 6.6 3.4 Bob Kucera Labor Members listed in italics did not contest their seat at this election.
Post-election pendulum
Labor seats (32)Marginal CollieMick MurrayALP0.1% JoondalupTony O'GormanALP0.8% BunburyTony DeanALP1.5% Swan HillsJaye RadisichALP2.0% RivertonTony McRaeALP3.0% Southern RiverPaul AndrewsALP3.4% YokineBob KuceraALP3.4% AlbanyPeter WatsonALP3.7% GeraldtonShane HillALP4.3% InnalooJohn QuigleyALP4.5% MandurahDavid TemplemanALP4.9% RoleystoneMartin WhitelyALP4.9% BallajuraJohn D'OrazioALP5.0% WannerooDianne GuiseALP5.9%Fairly safe ArmadaleAlannah MacTiernanALP7.1% v IND EyreJohn BowlerALP7.9%Safe ThornlieSheila McHaleALP10.4% KimberleyCarol MartinALP10.5% PerthJohn HydeALP11.3% MidlandMichelle RobertsALP13.5% Victoria ParkGeoff GallopALP13.8% MaylandsJudy EdwardsALP14.5% BelmontEric RipperALP14.7% BurrupFred RiebelingALP15.0% RockinghamMark McGowanALP15.6% WillageeAlan CarpenterALP15.7% PeelNorm MarlboroughALP16.5% FremantleJim McGintyALP17.2% NollamaraJohn KobelkeALP17.3% CockburnFran LoganALP18.3% GirrawheenMargaret QuirkALP18.4% BassendeanClive BrownALP19.1% Liberal/National seats (21)MarginalDarling RangeJohn DayLIB0.3%HillarysRob JohnsonLIB1.0%KalgoorlieMatt BirneyLIB1.1%NingalooRod SweetmanLIB2.4%KingsleyCheryl EdwardesLIB2.9%DawesvilleArthur MarshallLIB2.9%Murray-WellingtonJohn BradshawLIB3.0%AvonMax TrenordenNAT4.8%NedlandsRichard CourtLIB4.9% v INDVasseBernie MastersLIB5.5%WaginTerry WaldronNAT5.9% v LIBFairly safeMurdochMike BoardLIB6.6%MitchellDan SullivanLIB8.2%GreenoughJamie EdwardsLIB9.4%SafeCarineKatie Hodson-ThomasLIB10.0%CottesloeColin BarnettLIB11.3%StirlingMonty HouseNAT12.4%Warren-BlackwoodPaul OmodeiLIB14.4%MooreBill McNeeLIB15.1%RoeRoss AinsworthNAT21.7%MerredinHendy CowanNAT22.9%Crossbench seats (4)Alfred CoveJanet WoollardLFF7.4% v LIBSouth PerthPhillip PendalIND12.8% v LIBChurchlandsLiz ConstableIND19.2% v LIBPilbaraLarry GrahamIND19.2% v ALP
See also Candidates of the 2001 Western Australian state election Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1996–2001 Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 2001–2005
References