Division of Charlton
| Charlton Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
|
Division of Charlton (green) in New South Wales | |
| Created | 1984 |
| Abolished | 2016 |
| Namesake | Matthew Charlton |
| Area | 688 km2 (265.6 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Provincial |
The Division of Charlton was an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1984 and is named for Matthew Charlton, who was Leader of the Australian Labor Party 1922–28.
The division was located in the Hunter region of New South Wales, including the coal-mining towns of Cardiff and Wallsend as well as Toronto, Morisset, Cooranbong, Brightwaters, Windermere Park, Sunshine, Glendale and Warners Bay.
The last Member for Charlton, from the 2013 federal election, was Pat Conroy, a member of the Australian Labor Party.
Under the original proposed redistribution for the next federal election, Charlton was set to be renamed Hunter. The current Division of Hunter would have been abolished, and the Australian Electoral Commission's guidelines for redistributions require it to preserve the names of original Federation electorates where possible.[1][2]
The final plan, however, saw Charlton abolished, with Hunter pushed slightly eastward to absorb much of Charlton's former territory.[3] Conroy will contest the neighbouring seat of Shortland.
History
Charlton was first created in 1984. Much of its territory came from the Division of Hunter, which Matthew Charlton held from 1910 to 1928. From its inception, it had been a safe seat for Labor. The Hunter Region is one of the few areas outside capital cities where Labor has consistently done well.
The most prominent members were Bob Brown, a minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, and Greg Combet, a former secretary of the ACTU from 2000 to 2007, and a minister in the Gillard and Rudd governments.
During the 2013 federal election campaign, the Liberal Party of Australia endorsed Kevin Baker as their candidate for the division.[4] However, Baker was forced to end his campaign on 21 August 2013 due to controversy over inappropriate content on a car enthusiasts' website that he hosted. The Australian Electoral Commission had closed candidate nominations by the time Baker abandoned his campaign. The Liberals did not field a replacement candidate in the election. However, Baker was still listed on ballot papers as the Liberal candidate, as they had already been printed at the time of Baker's resignation from the campaign;[5] in excess of 24,500 electors gave him their first preference vote.[6]
Members
| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Brown | Labor | 1984–1998 | |
| Kelly Hoare | Labor | 1998–2007 | |
| Greg Combet | Labor | 2007–2013 | |
| Pat Conroy | Labor | 2013–2016 | |
Election results
References
- ↑ Australian Electoral Commission to abolish Federal NSW seat of Hunter: ABC 16 October 2015
- ↑ Draft federal redistribution of New South Wales: Poll Bludger
- ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/news/federal-election-2016/guide/hunt/
- ↑ "Libs announce candidate for seat of Charlton". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
- ↑ "Liberal candidate Kevin Baker quits race for Charlton over lewd website". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 August 2013.
- ↑ "Charlton, NSW". Election 2013. Australian Electoral Commission. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
External links
Coordinates: 33°02′13″S 151°31′30″E / 33.037°S 151.525°E