Division of Eden-Monaro
| Eden-Monaro Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
 Division of Eden-Monaro in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election. | |
| Created | 1901 |
| MP | Mike Kelly |
| Party | Labor |
| Namesake | Eden and Monaro |
| Electors | 107,887 (2016) |
| Area | 41,617 km2 (16,068.4 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Rural |
The Division of Eden-Monaro is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1900, and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the town of Eden and the Monaro district of southern New South Wales.
Its boundaries have changed very little throughout its history, and it includes the towns of Yass, Bega and Cooma and the city of Queanbeyan.
Until 1943 the seat was held by non-Labor parties for all but three years, but since then it has been consistently marginal.
Prior to the 2016 election, Eden-Monaro was long regarded as Australia's most famous "bellwether seat". From the 1972 election until the 2013 election, Eden-Monaro was won by the party that also won the election. During this time, all of its sitting members were defeated at the polls – none retired or resigned.
Liberal incumbent Peter Hendy was defeated by previous Labor incumbent Mike Kelly at the 2016 election, which saw Eden-Monaro won by the party that did not win government for the first time in nearly half a century. No longer the nation's famous bellwether seat, the nation's new longest-running bellwether is the seat of Robertson – continually won by the party that also won government since the 1983 election.[1]
Members
| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (Sir) Austin Chapman | Protectionist | 1901–1909 | |
| Commonwealth Liberal | 1909–1917 | ||
| Nationalist | 1917–1926 | ||
| John Perkins | Nationalist | 1926–1929 | |
| John Cusack | Labor | 1929–1931 | |
| John Perkins | United Australia | 1931–1943 | |
| Allan Fraser | Labor | 1943–1966 | |
| Dugald Munro | Liberal | 1966–1969 | |
| Allan Fraser | Labor | 1969–1972 | |
| Bob Whan | Labor | 1972–1975 | |
| Murray Sainsbury | Liberal | 1975–1983 | |
| Jim Snow | Labor | 1983–1996 | |
| Gary Nairn | Liberal | 1996–2007 | |
| Mike Kelly | Labor | 2007–2013 | |
| Peter Hendy | Liberal | 2013–2016 | |
| Mike Kelly | Labor | 2016–present | |
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Mike Kelly | 39,565 | 41.88 | +5.93 | |
| Liberal | Peter Hendy | 39,049 | 41.34 | +0.07 | |
| Greens | Tamara Ryan | 7,177 | 7.60 | +0.15 | |
| Animal Justice | Frankie Seymour | 1,986 | 2.10 | +2.10 | |
| Christian Democrats | Ursula Bennett | 1,763 | 1.87 | +0.85 | |
| Independent | Daniel Grosmaire | 1,683 | 1.78 | +1.78 | |
| Defence Veterans | Don Friend | 1,448 | 1.53 | +1.53 | |
| Independent | Andrew Thaler | 981 | 1.04 | −0.05 | |
| Independent | Ray Buckley | 817 | 0.86 | +0.86 | |
| Total formal votes | 94,469 | 93.66 | −0.81 | ||
| Informal votes | 6,399 | 6.34 | +0.81 | ||
| Turnout | 100,868 | 93.49 | −2.64 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Mike Kelly | 50,003 | 52.93 | +5.84 | |
| Liberal | Peter Hendy | 44,466 | 47.07 | −5.84 | |
| Labor gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.84 | |||
References
- ^ The Bellwether Contests: Antony Green ABC
- ^ Eden-Monaro, NSW, Virtual Tally Room 2016, Australian Electoral Commission.