TheDivision of Parramattais anAustralian electoral divisionin thestateofNew South Wales.The division was created in 1900 and was one of theoriginal 65 divisionscontested at thefirst federal election.It is named for the locality ofParramatta.The name Parramatta has been sourced to anAboriginalword for the area. TheDarug peoplehad lived in the area for many generations, and regarded the area as a food bowl, rich in food from the river and forests. They called the area Baramada or Burramatta ( "Parramatta" ) which means "the place where the eels lie down".[1]
| Parramatta AustralianHouse of RepresentativesDivision | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of electorate boundaries | |
| Created | 1901 |
| MP | Andrew Charlton |
| Party | Labor |
| Namesake | Parramatta |
| Electors | 105,513 (2022) |
| Area | 57 km2(22.0 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Inner metropolitan |
The division is based in the western suburbs ofSydney.Besides Parramatta, it includesCamellia,Clyde,Constitution Hill,Dundas Valley,Granville,Harris Park,Holroyd,Mays Hill,North Parramatta,Oatlands,Rosehill,Rydalmere,Telopea,Wentworthville,Westmead;and parts ofCarlingford,Dundas,Ermington,Guildford,Merrylands,North Rocks,Northmead,Old Toongabbie,Pendle Hill,South Granville,South Wentworthville,andToongabbie.
Parramatta is a diverse electorate with largeimmigrantcommunities fromIndiaandChina,and has a higher than average university education rate according to the2016 census.[2]At the time of the2022 Australian federal election,12% of Parramatta's population possessed Chinese ancestry.[3]
The current Member for the Division of Parramatta, since the2022 federal election,isAndrew Charlton,a member of theAustralian Labor Party.
Geography
editSince 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by theAustralian Electoral Commission.Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.[4]
History
edit
As originally created, it covered the outer northwestern suburbs of Sydney, though that city's dramatic growth made it an entirely urban seat afterWorld War II.For most of the first seven decades after Federation, it included a large amount of conservative-leaning territory that usually swamped Parramatta itself, which has historically been a working-class area. As a result, the seat was held by theLiberalsand their predecessors for all but one term from Federation until 1977.
Aredistributionahead of the1977 electionsplit Parramatta almost in half. Most of the wealthier eastern half became the comfortably safe Liberal seat ofDundas.Most of the western half, including the bulk of the ParramattaLGA,became the core of a marginal Labor seat that retained the Parramatta name, as perAustralian Electoral Commissionguidelines that require the names of original Federation electorates to be preserved where possible.[5][6]However, the reconfigured Parramatta was anchored in traditionally pro-Labor territory in western Sydney. Parramatta's Liberal incumbent,Phillip Ruddock,opted to follow most of his base into Dundas, allowing his 1975 challenger,John Brownto become only the second Labor member ever to win Parramatta.
Since then, it has been located between Labor's traditional heartland of western Sydney and the traditional Liberal stronghold of theNorth Shore.As a result, whenever the seat is redistributed, a shift of a few kilometres to the west or east can radically alter its political landscape.[7]
For example, the 2006 redistribution shifted Parramatta from marginally Labor tonotionallymarginally Liberal (as defined by the Australian Electoral Commission). Nevertheless, as was widely expected[8]at the2007 federal election,the incumbent Labor member,Julie Owens,held the seat ahead of Liberal candidate Colin Robinson, a member of the Electrical Trades Union,[8]with an increased majority.
Owens was subsequently re-elected at the2010,2013,2016elections, and2019.Owens' win in the seat in 2004 marked the third time that the Liberals and their predecessors had won government without winning Parramatta, preceded by Brown's wins in 1975 and1980.
Prominent members for Parramatta over the years have included(Sir) Joseph Cook,a formerPrime Minister;(Sir) Garfield BarwickandNigel Bowen,both of whom served asAttorney-Generalbefore moving to senior judicial position, Barwick asChief Justice of the High Court.Ruddock, a former Attorney-General andImmigration Ministeralso represented the seat (though he was the member forBerowraby then); as did Brown, a formerSports Minister.[7]
Members
edit| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sir Joseph Cook (1860–1947) |
Free Trade | 30 March 1901– 1906 |
Previously held theNew South Wales Legislative Assemblyseat ofHartley.Served asOpposition Leaderfrom 1908 to 1909, in 1913, and from 1914 to 1917. Served as minister underDeakinandHughes.Served asPrime Ministerfrom1913 to 1914.Resigned to become theHigh Commissioner to the United Kingdom | |
| Anti-Socialist | 1906 – 26 May 1909 | ||||
| Liberal | 26 May 1909 – 17 February 1917 | ||||
| Nationalist | 17 February 1917 – 11 November 1921 | ||||
|
Herbert Pratten (1865–1928) |
10 December 1921– 16 December 1922 |
Previously a member of theSenate.Transferred to the Division ofMartin | ||
|
Eric Bowden (1871–1931) |
16 December 1922– 12 October 1929 |
Previously held the Division ofNepean.Served as minister underBruce.Lost seat | ||
|
Albert Rowe (1872–1955) |
Labor | 12 October 1929– 19 December 1931 |
Lost seat | |
|
Sir Frederick Stewart (1884–1961) |
United Australia | 19 December 1931– 21 February 1945 |
Served as minister underLyons,MenziesandFadden.Retired | |
| Liberal | 21 February 1945 – 16 August 1946 | ||||
|
Howard Beale (1898–1983) |
28 September 1946– 10 February 1958 |
Served as minister underMenzies.Resigned to become theAustralian Ambassador to the United States | ||
|
Sir Garfield Barwick (1903–1997) |
8 March 1958– 24 April 1964 |
Served as minister underMenzies.Resigned to becomeChief Justiceof theHigh Court | ||
|
Nigel Bowen (1911–1994) |
20 June 1964– 11 July 1973 |
Served as minister underHolt,McEwen,GortonandMcMahon.Resigned to become aJudgeof theSupreme Court of New South Wales | ||
|
Philip Ruddock (1943–) |
22 September 1973– 10 December 1977 |
Transferred to the Division ofDundas | ||
|
John Brown (1931–) |
Labor | 10 December 1977– 19 February 1990 |
Served as minister underHawke.Retired | |
|
Paul Elliott (1954–) |
24 March 1990– 2 March 1996 |
Lost seat | ||
|
Ross Cameron (1965–) |
Liberal | 2 March 1996– 9 October 2004 |
Lost seat | |
|
Julie Owens (1958–) |
Labor | 9 October 2004– 11 April 2022 |
Retired | |
|
Andrew Charlton (1978–) |
21 May 2022– present |
Incumbent |
Election results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Andrew Charlton | 34,258 | 40.66 | −4.42 | |
| Liberal | Maria Kovacic | 29,492 | 35.00 | −6.28 | |
| Greens | Phil Bradley | 7,546 | 8.96 | +1.72 | |
| United Australia | Julian Fayad | 4,269 | 5.07 | +2.49 | |
| Independent OLC | Steve Christou | 2,982 | 3.54 | +3.54 | |
| Animal Justice | Rohan Laxmanalal | 2,397 | 2.84 | +2.84 | |
| One Nation | Heather Freeman | 2,011 | 2.39 | +2.39 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Liza Tazewell | 1,310 | 1.55 | +1.55 | |
| Total formal votes | 84,265 | 91.07 | −0.56 | ||
| Informal votes | 8,259 | 8.93 | +0.56 | ||
| Turnout | 92,524 | 87.73 | −1.88 | ||
| Two-party-preferredresult | |||||
| Labor | Andrew Charlton | 45,980 | 54.57 | +1.07 | |
| Liberal | Maria Kovacic | 38,285 | 45.43 | −1.07 | |
| Laborhold | Swing | +1.07 | |||
indicates at what stage the winning candidate had over 50% of the votes and was declared the winner.References
edit- ^Troy, Jakelin. "The Sydney Language".Macquarie Aboriginal Words.Sydney: Macquarie Library. p. 76.
- ^"2016 Parramatta, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics".www.abs.gov.au.Retrieved27 May2022.
- ^Fang, Jason; Xing, Dong; Handley, Erin."Chinese-Australian voters helped sway the election result. So what issues mattered most to them?".ABC News.Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Retrieved29 June2024.
- ^Muller, Damon (14 November 2017)."The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide".Parliament of Australia.Retrieved19 April2022.
- ^"Homepage".Archivedfrom the original on 10 May 2017.Retrieved8 March2018.
- ^"Homepage".Archivedfrom the original on 10 May 2017.Retrieved8 March2018.
- ^abGreen, Antony(2010)."Parramattta".Australia votes 2010.Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Archivedfrom the original on 7 February 2012.
- ^abCarr, Adam (2007)."Division of Parramatta".Guide to the 2007 Federal Election.Archivedfrom the original on 13 September 2007.Retrieved22 September2007.
- ^Parramatta, NSW,2022 Tally Room,Australian Electoral Commission.