Division of Cunningham

Coordinates: 34°15′32″S 150°54′58″E / 34.259°S 150.916°E / -34.259; 150.916
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Cunningham
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Cunningham in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election
Created1949
MPAlison Byrnes
PartyLabor
NamesakeAllan Cunningham
Electors117,309 (2022)
Area519 km2 (200.4 sq mi)
DemographicProvincial

The Division of Cunningham is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.

History[edit]

Allan Cunningham, the division's namesake

The division was created in 1949 and is named for Allan Cunningham, a 19th-century explorer of New South Wales and Queensland.

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.

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. The sitting member, since the 2022 federal election, is Alison Byrnes, a member of the Australian Labor Party.

Boundaries[edit]

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.[1]

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.

Members[edit]

Image Member Party Term Notes
  Billy Davies
(1884–1956)
Labor 10 December 1949
17 February 1956
Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Wollongong-Kembla. Died in office
  Victor Kearney
(1903–1982)
Labor 1 April 1956
1 November 1963
Retired
  Rex Connor
(1907–1977)
Labor 30 November 1963
22 August 1977
Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Wollongong-Kembla. Served as minister under Whitlam. Died in office
  Stewart West
(1934–2023)
Labor 15 October 1977
8 February 1993
Served as minister under Hawke. Lost preselection and retired
  Dr Stephen Martin
(1948–)
Labor 13 March 1993
16 August 2002
Previously held the Division of Macarthur. Served as Speaker during the Keating Government. Resigned to retire from politics
  Michael Organ
(1956–)
Greens 19 October 2002
9 October 2004
Lost seat
  Sharon Bird
(1962–)
Labor 9 October 2004
11 April 2022
Served as minister under Gillard and Rudd. Retired
  Alison Byrnes Labor 21 May 2022
present
Incumbent

Election results[edit]

2022 Australian federal election: Cunningham[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Alison Byrnes 40,783 40.11 −6.50
Liberal Marcus Uren 25,418 25.00 −5.97
Greens Dylan Green 22,011 21.65 +6.56
One Nation Thomas Grogan 5,218 5.13 +5.13
United Australia Ben Britton 4,936 4.85 +1.05
Liberal Democrats Michael Glover 2,207 2.17 +2.17
Australian Citizens Alexis Garnaut-Miller 1,098 1.08 +1.08
Total formal votes 101,671 94.86 +0.56
Informal votes 5,514 5.14 −0.56
Turnout 107,185 91.48 −1.17
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Alison Byrnes 65,783 64.70 +1.29
Liberal Marcus Uren 35,888 35.30 −1.29
Labor hold Swing +1.29
Primary vote results in Cunningham (Parties that did not get 5% of the vote are omitted)
  Liberal
  Labor
  Greens
  Australian Democrats
  One Nation
  Rex Connor Labor
  Independent
Primary vote results in Cunningham (Parties that did not get 5% of the vote are omitted)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. ^ Cunningham, NSW, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.

External links[edit]

34°15′32″S 150°54′58″E / 34.259°S 150.916°E / -34.259; 150.916