Division of Cunningham
| Cunningham Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
|
Division of Cunningham in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election. | |
| Created | 1949 |
| MP | Sharon Bird |
| Party | Labor |
| Namesake | Allan Cunningham |
| Electors | 111,395 (2016) |
| Area | 519 km2 (200.4 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Provincial |
The Division of Cunningham is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Allan Cunningham, a 19th-century explorer of New South Wales and Queensland.
The division is located on the coast of New South Wales between southern Sydney and Wollongong. It takes in the northern portion of Wollongong, including Corrimal, Figtree and Unanderra. It also includes several of Sydney's outer southern suburbs, including Heathcote and Bundeena. The division covers areas east of the Illawarra escarpment and is bounded by the Tasman Sea to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Royal National Park and to the south by the Wollongong suburbs of Figtree, Cordeaux Heights and Coniston. Although the region is primarily rural, the vast majority of the population is located in the northern outskirts of Wollongong and along the eastern seaboard. The main products and means of livelihood in the area are tourism, tertiary education, steel production, coal mining, brick manufacturing, textiles and dairy farming.
The sitting member, since the 2004 federal election, is Sharon Bird, a member of the Australian Labor Party.
History
The division has always been represented by the Australian Labor Party, except following the 2002 by-election when the Greens won the seat; being the first time that the Greens held a seat in the House of Representatives. Labor recovered the seat at the 2004 federal election. The Illawarra is one of the few non-metropolitan regions where Labor has consistently done well.
Its most prominent members have been Rex Connor, a senior minister in the Whitlam government, and Stephen Martin, who was Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993–1996, during the last term of the Keating government.
Cunningham is Labor's safest non-metropolitan seat, with a nine percent swing needed for the Liberals to win it.
Members
| Member | Party | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Davies | Labor | 1949–1956 | |
| Victor Kearney | Labor | 1956–1963 | |
| Rex Connor | Labor | 1963–1977 | |
| Stewart West | Labor | 1977–1993 | |
| Stephen Martin | Labor | 1993–2002 | |
| Michael Organ | Greens | 2002–2004 | |
| Sharon Bird | Labor | 2004–present | |
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Sharon Bird | 46,414 | 47.89 | +0.89 | |
| Liberal | Michelle Blicavs | 28,263 | 29.16 | −2.81 | |
| Greens | Cath Blakey | 14,200 | 14.65 | +3.30 | |
| Christian Democrats | Michelle Ryan | 3,939 | 4.06 | +1.74 | |
| Science | Nathan Waters | 2,526 | 2.61 | +2.61 | |
| Non-Custodial Parents | John Flanagan | 1,582 | 1.63 | +0.67 | |
| Total formal votes | 96,924 | 95.16 | +2.20 | ||
| Informal votes | 4,933 | 4.84 | −2.20 | ||
| Turnout | 101,857 | 91.44 | −1.75 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Sharon Bird | 61,377 | 63.32 | +2.03 | |
| Liberal | Michelle Blicavs | 35,547 | 36.68 | −2.03 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | +2.03 | |||
References
- ↑ Cunningham, NSW, Virtual Tally Room 2016, Australian Electoral Commission.
External links
- Division of Cunningham - Australian Electoral Commission
- Wilson, Peter (2002). The Australian Political Almanack.
Coordinates: 34°15′32″S 150°54′58″E / 34.259°S 150.916°E