Division of Cook
| Cook Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
 Division of Cook (green) in New South Wales | |
| Created | 1969 |
| MP | Scott Morrison |
| Party | Liberal |
| Namesake | James Cook |
| Electors | 100,733 (2010) |
| Area | 100 km2 (38.6 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Inner Metropolitan |
The Division of Cook is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1969 and is named for James Cook, who mapped the east coast of Australia in 1770. It is located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, including Caringbah, Cronulla, Miranda and Sylvania. In the 1970s it was a marginal seat, but demographic change has made it a blue ribbon safe seat for the Liberal Party.
In 2007, following sitting member Bruce Baird's 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]—though these allegations were subsequently proven false.[2] In August 2007, Towke was disendorsed as the Liberal candidate, and was replaced with Scott Morrison, former director of the New South Wales Liberal Party.[3]
The seat was contested at the 2013 election by the sitting member Scott Morrison for the Liberal Party of Australia. The Australian Labor Party candidate was Peter Scaysbrook. Dr. Jim Saleam, the NSW Chairman of the Australia First Party, also contested the election.[4]
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 | Matthew 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 | 94.22 | -0.20 | ||
| 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. PM (ABC News), 2007-08-03.
- ^ Sheehan, Paul. Nasty saga you nearly missed. The Sydney Morning Herald, 2009-10-26.
- ^ http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/2007seats/cook.shtml
- ^ "Scott Morrison is Minister for the Brisbane Line". Australia First Party. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.