ALP 19.1%
Incumbent MP
John Eren, since 2006. Previously Member of the Legislative Council for Geelong Province 2002-2006.
Geography
Western fringe of Melbourne. Lara covers northern parts of the City of Greater Geelong, including Corio, Drumcondra, Moorabool and North Geelong.
Lara was created in 2002. It was considered a safe Labor seat, but was made much safer when Labor candidate Peter Loney won the seat with a 9.6% swing. Loney had previously held the seat of Geelong North since 1992, before it was abolished at the 2002 redistribution.
In 2006, Loney faced a preselection challenge from John Eren, a member of the Legislative Council whose seat had been abolished as part of the reforms to the upper house. Loney retired, and Eren was elected as the new Labor member for Lara. Eren has been re-elected in Lara three times.
Candidates
Sitting Labor MP John Eren is not running for re-election.
- Courtney Gardner (Greens)
- Sarah Hathway (Independent)
- Ralph Krein (Liberal)
- Steve Rankine (Family First)
- Ella George (Labor)
- Peter Kelly (Animal Justice)
- Ash Taylor (Angry Victorians)
- Max Payne (Liberal Democrats)
Assessment
Lara is a safe Labor seat.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| John Eren | Labor | 22,951 | 57.9 | +2.0 |
| Melissa Di Pasquale | Liberal | 9,559 | 24.1 | -4.8 |
| Amber Forbes | Greens | 2,966 | 7.5 | -1.4 |
| Bronwen Baker | Animal Justice | 2,740 | 6.9 | +6.9 |
| Dean Cardigan | Socialists | 1,408 | 3.6 | +3.6 |
| Informal | 2,467 | 5.9 | +1.3 |
2018 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| John Eren | Labor | 27,430 | 69.1 | +2.0 |
| Melissa Di Pasquale | Liberal | 12,244 | 30.9 | -2.0 |
Booths have been divided into three areas: central, north and south.
Labor won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all three areas, ranging from 65.7% in the north to 78.0% in the centre.
| Voter group | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| Central | 78.0 | 7,812 | 19.7 |
| North | 65.7 | 6,945 | 17.5 |
| South | 69.6 | 5,333 | 13.5 |
| Pre-poll | 66.9 | 12,624 | 31.9 |
| Other votes | 66.3 | 6,910 | 17.4 |
Election results in Lara at the 2018 Victorian state election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and primary votes for Labor and the Liberal Party.
If we want to look at potential realignment we need to look at this seat. There was little swing to the Libs in Norlane, North Shore and Corio which are very deprived areas and some most disadvantaged areas in the state. Norlane/North Shore has a SEIFA score of 2. There was a swing back in rural Anakie. Drumcondra and Rippleside are some of the wealthiest parts of Geelong/
Interesting how working class Geelong held up string for Andrews Labor unlike working class Melbourne