Australian federal electoral division
Australian electorate
The
Division of Mitchell
is an
Australian electoral division
in the
state
of
New South Wales
.
Mitchell is a largely
white collar
,
upper class
and
socially conservative
electorate in the
Hills district
of northwestern
Sydney
.
[1]
[2]
Mitchell includes the suburbs of
Baulkham Hills
,
Bella Vista
,
Castle Hill
,
Northmead
,
North Rocks
,
West Pennant Hills
and
Winston Hills
, along with the quickly growing
housing estates
around
Kellyville
and
Rouse Hill
.
[2]
Mitchell is the most
conservative
metropolitan electorate and the second most conservative electorate in Australia after the
Division of Maranoa
.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
The division is named after Major
Thomas Mitchell
,
surveyor
and
explorer
who was the first European to explore large areas of New South Wales and
Victoria
. The division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the
1949 federal election
. The majority of the electorate is fairly conservative, and it has been a safe seat for the
Liberal Party of Australia
for most of its existence.
Labor
has won it twice, for one term each. Labor last won it in
1972
in the swing that brought
Gough Whitlam
to power. However, proving this seat's conservative nature, the Liberals took it back in
1974
and have held it without serious difficulty since then. A 1984 redistribution cut out
Richmond
and the
Hawkesbury River
area, making this already safely conservative seat even more so. The current Member for Mitchell, since the
2007 federal election
, is Liberal
Alex Hawke
.
The seat includes most of the
Hills District
, a region with a large evangelical Christian population that has pushed the seat further to the right. However, the southernmost suburbs of North Rocks, Northmead and Winston Hills are located in the
Parramatta
local government area
, and share that LGA's
bellwether
tendencies. These areas have been won by Labor at high-tide elections such as at the
2007 federal election
. After the
2013 federal election
, Mitchell replaced nearby
Bradfield
as the safest
Coalition
seat in metropolitan Australia, with Labor needing a 22-point swing to win it.
[4]
As of the
2019 federal election
, it is the second-safest metropolitan Coalition seat, behind
Cook
, with an 18.6-point swing needed for Labor to win it.
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.
[5]
The division is located in the
Hills District
of
Sydney
, and includes the entire suburbs of
Baulkham Hills
,
Beaumont Hills
,
Bella Vista
,
Norwest
,
Box Hill
,
Kellyville
,
North Kellyville
,
Nelson
, and
Winston Hills
. The division also includes parts of
Castle Hill
,
Glenhaven
,
Maraylya
,
North Rocks
,
Northmead
,
Old Toongabbie
,
Rouse Hill
, and
West Pennant Hills
.
Members
[
edit
]
Election results
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
33°42′36″S
150°57′36″E
/
33.710°S 150.960°E
/
-33.710; 150.960