Wikipedia

Division of Whitlam

The Division of Whitlam is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.

Whitlam
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Whitlam in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election
Created2016
MPStephen Jones
PartyLabor
NamesakeGough Whitlam
Electors125,535 (2022)
Area1,331 km2 (513.9 sq mi)
DemographicProvincial

Whitlam is a predominantly middle and working-class electorate that covers 1,331 square kilometres in the southern Illawarra and Southern Highlands.[1]

The current MP is Stephen Jones, a member of the Australian Labor Party. Jones was born in Wollongong and was a trade union official before first being elected to Parliament in 2010.[1]

Geography

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Federal electoral division boundaries in Australia are determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian 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.[2]

History

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Gough Whitlam, the division's namesake

The division, previously named Throsby, was renamed in honour of Gough Whitlam, the Prime Minister of Australia from 1972–75, in a February 2016 electoral distribution.[3] It came into effect from 2 July 2016, the date of the 2016 Australian federal election.

ABC election analyst Antony Green estimated that boundary changes to Throsby would reduce the Australian Labor Party's notional two-party-preferred margin from 7.8 to 6.9 percentage points.[4] Despite this, the last member for Throsby, Stephen Jones, easily retained the seat with a healthy swing of over six points.

Whitlam has a strong working-class character due to the presence of industries such as steelmaking, coal mining and stevedoring in the Illawarra.

Members

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Image Member Party Term Notes
    Stephen Jones
(1965–) 		Labor 2 July 2016 –
present 		Previously held the Division of Throsby. Incumbent. Currently a minister in the Albanese Government

Election results

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Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Whitlam
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2022 Australian federal election in New South Wales § Whitlam.[edit]
2022 Australian federal election: Whitlam[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Stephen Jones 49,218 45.01 −3.79
Liberal Mike Cains 30,849 28.21 +2.75
Greens Jamie Dixon 11,779 10.77 +1.56
One Nation Colin Hughes 7,543 6.90 +6.90
United Australia Allan Wode 5,886 5.38 −3.46
Liberal Democrats Michael Wheeler 4,062 3.72 +3.72
Total formal votes 109,337 95.10 +2.35
Informal votes 5,637 4.90 −2.35
Turnout 114,974 91.69 −1.57
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Stephen Jones 65,683 60.07 −0.84
Liberal Mike Cains 43,654 39.93 +0.84
Labor hold Swing −0.84
Primary vote results in Whitlam (Parties that did not get 5% of the vote are omitted)
  Labor
  Liberal
  National
  Greens
  United Australia Party
  One Nation
Two-candidate-preferred vote results in Whitlam

References

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  1. ^ a b "Whitlam - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. ^ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Federal seat of Throsby to become Whitlam". ABC News. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  4. ^ Green, Antony. "2015–16 New South Wales Federal Redistribution". ABC News. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  5. ^ Whitlam, NSW, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.
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34°32′02″S 150°33′07″E / 34.534°S 150.552°E / -34.534; 150.552

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