Division of Leichhardt

Leichhardt Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Leichhardt (green) within Queensland
Created:	1949
MP:	Warren Entsch
Party:	Liberal National
Namesake:	Ludwig Leichhardt
Area:	148,988 km² (57,525 sq mi)
Demographic:	Rural

The Division of Leichhardt is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was first proclaimed in 1949. It is one of Australia's largest electorates, covering an area stretching from Cairns to Cape York and the Torres Strait, including the Torres Strait Islands.

About the electorate

The division is named after Ludwig Leichhardt, an explorer and scientist.

Most of the electorate is almost uninhabited except for small Aboriginal communities, but the extreme southeast, consisting of the northern half of the Wet Tropics, with rich volcanic soils instead of the extraordinarily infertile lateritic sands and gravels of Cape York proper, is quite densely populated and includes urban Cairns. There are small, intensive sugar cane, banana and mango farms in this region, though they are prone to damage from droughts and cyclones.

As of the 2010 Australian federal election, the electorate of Leichhardt is no longer a bellwether seat. It was a bellwether seat from the election of 1972 to 2010.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Tom Gilmore	Country	1949–1951
	Henry Bruce	Labor	1951–1958
	Bill Fulton	Labor	1958–1975
	David Thomson	National	1975–1983
	John Gayler	Labor	1983–1993
	Peter Dodd	Labor	1993–1996
	Warren Entsch	Liberal	1996–2007
	Jim Turnour	Labor	2007–2010
	Warren Entsch	Liberal National	2010–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Leichhardt

Australian federal election, 2010: Leichhardt
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal National	Warren Entsch	37,828	47.40	+4.66
	Labor	Jim Turnour	27,662	34.66	-8.37
	Greens	Neville St John-Wood	7,232	9.06	+1.44
	Independent	Jen Sackley	2,556	3.20	+3.20
	Independent	Yodie Batzke	1,700	2.13	+2.13
	Family First	Shannon McSweeney	1,461	1.83	+0.53
	Independent	Steve Lane	1,373	1.72	+1.72
Total formal votes			79,812	94.09	-0.89
Informal votes			5,017	5.91	+0.89
Turnout			84,829	91.08	-1.38
Two-candidate preferred result
	Liberal National	Warren Entsch	43,539	54.55	+8.61
	Labor	Jim Turnour	36,273	45.45	-8.61
	Liberal National gain from Labor		Swing	+8.61

References

• Division of Leichhardt (Qld) — Australian Electoral Commission