Division of Batman

Batman AustralianHouse of RepresentativesDivision
Division of Batman (green) inMelbourne,Victoria
Created	1906
Abolished	2019
Namesake	John Batman
Electors	108,935 (2016)
Area	66 km2(25.5 sq mi)
Demographic	Inner metropolitan
Coordinates	37.733°S 145.014°E/-37.733; 145.014

TheDivision of Batmanwas anAustralian Electoral Divisionin thestateofVictoria.It took its name fromJohn Batman,one of the founders of the city of Melbourne. The division was created in 1906, replacing theDivision of Northern Melbourne,and was abolished in 2019 and replaced by theDivision of Cooper.

The division was located in Melbourne's northern suburbs. It covered an area of approximately 66 square kilometres (25 sq mi) fromThomastown/Bundoorain the north toClifton Hillin the south, withMerri Creekproviding the vast majority of the western boundary andDarebin Creek,parts ofMacleodand Plenty Road inBundooraproviding the eastern boundary. The suburbs ofAlphington,Clifton Hill,Fairfield,Kingsbury,Northcote,Preston,Reservoir,andThornbury;and parts ofBundoora,Coburg North,Macleod,andThomastownwere in this division.

Held by Labor for all but 10 yearsof its history,Batman traditionally had been a safeLaborseat. However, theGreensmade the seat a contest beginning with the2010 election,where they reduced Labor from a 26.0% margin to a 7.9% margin. Though Labor increased their margin against the Greens to 10.6% in2013,the Greens reduced Labor's margin to just 1.0% in2016.At the2018 Batman by-electionhowever, Labor increased their margin to 4.4% against the Greens.

In June 2018, theAustralian Electoral Commissionannounced that, at the2019 Australian federal election,the division would be re-namedCooper,afterAboriginalcommunity leader and activistWilliam Cooper.

History

John Batman,the division's namesake

When it was created it covered the inner suburbs ofCarltonandFitzroy,but successive boundary changes moved it steadily northwards, ending with it includingNorthcote,Preston, Reservoir and Thornbury.

Located in Labor's traditional heartland of north Melbourne, Batman had been in Labor hands for all but two terms since 1910, and without interruption since 1969. It was held byBrian Howefrom 1977 to 1996, a senior minister in theHawkeandKeatinggovernments, and alsoDeputy Prime Minister1991–95. Howe was succeeded at the 1996 election byMartin Ferguson,moving to Parliament after six years as President of theACTU.Ferguson served as a senior Labor frontbencher, and a minister in theRuddandGillardgovernments, before resigning from the ministry in March 2013 after thefailed challengeto Gillard's leadership. He was succeeded at the 2013 election by formerSenatorDavid Feeney,who had been a parliamentary secretary in the Rudd and Gillard governments.

In 2018, as a result of the2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis,Feeney resigned and decided not to seek pre-selection to run at the ensuing by-election. The2018 Batman by-electionheld on 17 March saw the election of Labor'sGed Kearney.

Members

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Jabez Coon (1869–1935)	Protectionist	12 December 1906– 26 May 1909	Lost seat
			Liberal	26 May 1909 – 13 April 1910
		Henry Beard (1864–1910)	Labor	13 April 1910– 18 December 1910	Previously held theVictorian Legislative Assemblyseat ofJika Jika.Died in office
		Frank Brennan (1873–1950)		8 February 1911– 19 December 1931	Served as minister underScullin.Lost seat
		Samuel Dennis (1870–1945)	United Australia	19 December 1931– 15 September 1934	Lost seat
		Frank Brennan (1873–1950)	Labor	15 September 1934– 31 October 1949	Retired
		Alan Bird (1906–1962)		10 December 1949– 21 July 1962	Died in office
		Sam Benson (1909–1995)		1 September 1962– August 1966	Retired
			Independent	August 1966 – 29 September 1969
		Horrie Garrick (1918–1982)	Labor	25 October 1969– 10 November 1977	Lost preselection and retired
		Brian Howe (1936–)		10 December 1977– 2 March 1996	Served as minister andDeputy Prime MinisterunderHawkeandKeating.Retired
		Martin Ferguson (1953–)		2 March 1996– 5 August 2013	Served as minister underRuddandGillard.Retired
		David Feeney (1970–)		7 September 2013– 1 February 2018	Previously a member of theSenate.Election results declared void due todual citizenship.Did not contest subsequentby-election
		Ged Kearney (1963–)		17 March 2018– 11 April 2019	Transferred to the Division ofCooperafter Batman was abolished in 2019

Election results

Main article:Electoral results for the Division of Batman

This section is an excerpt from2018 Batman by-election § Results.[edit]

2018 Batman by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Ged Kearney	36,840	43.14	+7.87
	Greens	Alex Bhathal	33,725	39.49	+3.26
	Conservatives	Kevin Bailey	5,471	6.41	+6.41
	Animal Justice	Miranda Smith	2,528	2.96	+1.29
	Rise Up Australia	Yvonne Gentle	2,217	2.60	+2.60
	Independent	Teresa van Lieshout	1,245	1.46	+1.46
	Liberty Alliance	Debbie Robinson	1,186	1.39	+1.39
	Sustainable Australia	Mark McDonald	951	1.11	+1.11
		Adrian Whitehead	745	0.87	+0.87
	People's Party	Tegan Burns	496	0.58	+0.58
Total formal votes			85,404	93.79	+1.57
Informal votes			5,650	6.21	−1.57
Turnout			91,054	81.40	−8.28
Two-candidate-preferredresult
	Labor	Ged Kearney	46,446	54.38	+3.35
	Greens	Alex Bhathal	38,958	45.62	−3.35
	Laborhold		Swing	+3.35

External links

• Division of Batman – Australian Electoral Commission