Division of Cook
| Cook Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
 The location of the Division of Cook, highlighted in red, in Sydney, as of the 2016 federal election. | |
| Created | 1969 |
| MP | Scott Morrison |
| Party | Liberal |
| Namesake | James Cook |
| Electors | 104,432 (2016) |
| Area | 94 km2 (36.3 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Inner Metropolitan |
The Division of Cook is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1969 and is named for James Cook, who mapped the east coast of Australia in 1770.
The division is located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, including Caringbah, Cronulla, Miranda and Sylvania.
The current Member for Cook, since the 2007 federal election, is Scott Morrison, a member of the Liberal Party of Australia.
History
Originally created as a marginal seat, successive redistributions have pushed it further into the wealthier portions of Sutherland Shire. Since the mid-1990s, it has been a "blue ribbon" safe seat for the Liberal Party.
The most prominent members were Don Dobie, who held the seat from its 1969 creation until his retirement in 1996 (with a brief break from 1972 to 1975) and Bruce Baird, a former Deputy leader of the Liberal Party of New South Wales before his move into Federal politics with his election in Cook. In 2007, following news of Baird's impending retirement, the seat attracted significant media attention due to the controversial preselection of Liberal candidate Michael Towke. Allegations surfaced that Towke had engaged in branch-stacking and had embellished his resume;[1] although these allegations were subsequently proven false.[2] In August 2007, Towke was disendorsed as the Liberal candidate, and was replaced with Scott Morrison, a former director of the New South Wales Liberal Party.[3] Morrison won the seat at the election and is the current sitting member.
Members
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Scott Morrison | 55,707 | 60.35 | +2.47 | |
| Labor | Peter Scaysbrook | 22,850 | 24.76 | −4.05 | |
| Greens | Mithra Cox | 6,058 | 6.56 | −1.17 | |
| Palmer United | Matt Palise | 3,765 | 4.08 | +4.08 | |
| Christian Democrats | Beth Smith | 1,981 | 2.15 | +0.23 | |
| Independent | Graeme Strang | 1,321 | 1.43 | −0.32 | |
| Australia First | Jim Saleam | 617 | 0.67 | +0.67 | |
| Total formal votes | 92,299 | 94.08 | −0.11 | ||
| Informal votes | 5,813 | 5.92 | +0.11 | ||
| Turnout | 98,112 | 94.17 | −0.25 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal | Scott Morrison | 61,244 | 66.35 | +3.69 | |
| Labor | Peter Scaysbrook | 31,055 | 33.65 | −3.69 | |
| Liberal hold | Swing | +3.69 | |||
References
- ^ "Liberal Party disendorses Michael Towke" (transcript). PM (ABC Radio). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 August 2007.
- ^ Sheehan, Paul (26 October 2009). "Nasty saga you nearly missed". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/2007seats/cook.shtml
- ^ "Cook, NSW". Election 2013. Australian Electoral Commission. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.