Division of Bendigo

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Bendigo
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Bendigo 2013.png
Division of Bendigo (green) in Victoria
Created 1901
MP Lisa Chesters
Party Labor
Namesake Bendigo, Victoria
Electors 102,934 (2013)[1]
Area 6,255 km2 (2,415.1 sq mi)
Demographic Provincial

The Division of Bendigo is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the city of Bendigo.

The division is situated on the northern foothills of the Great Dividing Range in North Central Victoria. It covers an area of approximately 6,255 square kilometres (2,415 sq mi) and provides the southern gateway to the Murray Darling Basin. In addition to the city of Bendigo, other large population centres in the division include Castlemaine, Heathcote, Kyneton and Woodend.[2]

The current Member for the Division of Bendigo, since the 2013 federal election, is Lisa Chesters, a member of the Australian Labor Party.

History

In the early years of federation the seat consisted of little more than Bendigo itself, but on later boundaries the seat has included towns such as Echuca, Castlemaine, Maryborough and Seymour.

Bendigo has been a marginal seat, changing hands regularly between the Labor Party and the conservative parties; typically mirroring voting patterns in state elections.[3] However it has been in Labor hands since the 1998 election. Bendigo has had 16 members, the equal-highest number (with Denison) of any federal electorate.[4]

Its most notable members have been its first representative, Sir John Quick, who was a leading federalist, and Prime Minister Billy Hughes who, although from Sydney, represented Bendigo for two terms at a time when the federal Parliament met in Melbourne, and who moved to the seat after leaving the Labor Party over conscription, holding the seat as the leader of the Nationalist Party.

John Brumby, who held the seat from 1983 to 1990, later became Premier of Victoria. Brumby was defeated in Bendigo at the 1990 election by a former state Legislative Councillor, Bruce Reid, who retained the seat narrowly in 1993 and 1996, before retiring at the 1998 election, when a 4.3% swing delivered the seat to Labor's Steve Gibbons. Reid has a minor claim to fame through being the third candidate in the contest for Liberal leadership between John Hewson and John Howard after the party's 1993 election defeat. Reid attracted one vote, presumably his own.[3]

Members

Member Party Results
  Sir John Quick Protectionist 1901–1906
  Independent Protectionist 1906–1909
  Commonwealth Liberal 1909–1913
  John Arthur Labor 1913–1914
  Alfred Hampson Labor 1915–1917
  Billy Hughes Nationalist 1917–1922
  Geoffry Hurry Nationalist 1922–1929
  Richard Keane Labor 1929–1931
  Eric Harrison United Australia 1931–1937
  George Rankin Country 1937–1949
  Percy Clarey Labor 1949–1960
  Noel Beaton Labor 1960–1969
  David Kennedy Labor 1969–1972
  John Bourchier Liberal 1972–1983
  John Brumby Labor 1983–1990
  Bruce Reid Liberal 1990–1998
  Steve Gibbons Labor 1998–2013
  Lisa Chesters Labor 2013–present

Election results

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Australian federal election, 2013: Bendigo[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Greg Bickley 36,701 39.67 +3.77
Labor Lisa Chesters 33,829 36.56 −10.38
Greens Lachlan Slade 8,600 9.30 −3.65
National Sarah Sheedy 4,644 5.02 +5.02
Palmer United Anita Donlon 2,336 2.52 +2.52
Sex Party Charlie Crutchfield 2,220 2.40 +2.40
Family First Alan Howard 1,036 1.12 −2.98
Katter's Australian Stephen Stingel 745 0.81 +0.81
Christians Ewan McDonald 567 0.61 +0.61
Independent Daniel Abikhair 545 0.59 +0.59
Country Alliance Rod Leunig 538 0.58 +0.58
Rise Up Australia Sandra Caddy 499 0.54 +0.54
Independent Matine Rahmani 259 0.28 +0.28
Total formal votes 92,519 94.29 −2.07
Informal votes 5,600 5.71 +2.07
Turnout 98,119 95.32 +0.25
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Lisa Chesters 47,426 51.26 −8.16
Liberal Greg Bickley 45,093 48.74 +8.16
Labor hold Swing −8.16

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.