Perth is a relatively safe seat for the ALP covering the Perth CBD and areas to the northeast. The seat covers the suburbs of Maylands, Mount Lawley, Bayswater, Ashfield, Bedford, Morley and Beechboro, as well as Perth itself.
The seat had a long history of being marginal, but recently has become a reasonably solid Labor seat, having been held by the ALP continuously since 1983. The seat was held from 1983 to 1993 by Olympic hockey player Ric Charlesworth, who competed in his fourth and fifth Olympics while holding the seat of Perth. Charlesworth retired in 1993 at the ripe old age of 41, and was succeeded by Stephen Smith. He has held the seat ever since, and is now Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in the federal Labor government.
