Division of Fowler
The Division of Fowler is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.
| Fowler Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
 Division of Fowler in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election | |
| Created | 1984 |
| MP | Dai Le |
| Party | Independent |
| Namesake | Lilian Fowler |
| Electors | 108,517 (2022) |
| Area | 69 km2 (26.6 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Outer metropolitan |
Fowler is based in Sydney's outer southwestern suburbs of Liverpool, Warwick Farm, Chipping Norton, Cabramatta, Canley Vale, Mount Pritchard, Abbotsbury, Bossley Park, Edensor Park, Greenfield Park, Prairiewood, St Johns Park, Wakeley, Bonnyrigg, Canley Heights, Carramar and Fairfield East.[1]
Fowler is a diverse electorate, containing immigrant communities of Vietnamese and Chinese ancestry. According to the 2016 census, only 40% of electors were born in Australia, while 15.2% were born in Vietnam.[2]
The current MP is Dai Le, who was elected as an independent in 2022. She is the first non-Labor politician to represent Fowler. Le has strong links to the Vietnamese community in Fowler; she was born in Vietnam and migrated to Australia as an eleven year old after three years in a Philippines refugee camp.[3]
Geography
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.[4]
History
The division was created in 1984 and is named after Lilian Fowler, the first female mayor in Australia.
The division includes the Sydney suburbs of Cabramatta, Cabramatta West, Canley Heights, Chipping Norton, Edensor Park, Fairfield East, Greenfield Park, Liverpool, St Johns Park, Wakeley, and Warwick Farm; as well as parts of Abbotsbury, Bonnyrigg, Bossley Park, Canley Vale, Carramar, Fairfield, Fairfield West, Guildford, Moorebank, Mount Pritchard, Prairiewood, and Yennora.
The member for Fowler from the 2010 federal election to the 2022 federal election has been Chris Hayes, a member of the Australian Labor Party.
2022 election
After announcing that he would retire at the 2022 federal election, Hayes endorsed Tu Le, a locally resident lawyer, to succeed him. A factional dispute involving winnable seats on the Senate ticket saw Senator Kristina Keneally parachuted into the election for the "safe" seat in order to resolve the dispute. It would also allow Keneally to serve on the ministerial or shadow frontbench following the election. Keneally's move was heavily criticised both in the community and within the party for her decision to usurp the position of a local candidate, with Keneally living on Scotland Island on Sydney's Northern Beaches, over an hour's drive from the electorate.
Dai Le, a local independent who was serving as the deputy mayor of the Fairfield City Council announced her intention to stand for the seat. Dai Le had been a Liberal Party member earlier in her career until her expulsion from the party as her bid for Mayor breached party rules regarding running against an endorsed candidate.[5]
Dai Le won the seat after a major swing against Labor. Keneally's slightly higher first preference vote was not high enough to prevent Le from winning on the two party preferred count. Liberal Party, United Australia, One Nation and Liberal Democrats preferences flowed to Le while the small number of Green votes and voters not following a typical right to left preference flow were not enough to keep it in the hands of Labor. It was the first time Labor had lost the seat, after 13 straight election wins.
Demographic (2016 Census)
Population
The 2016 population of the Division of Fowler was 165,164 people.
| People
Persons count based on place of usual residence on Census night |
Fowler | % |
|---|---|---|
| Male | 80,936 | 49.3 |
| Female | 83,295 | 50.7 |
| Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people | 1,333 | 0.8 |
| Total | 165,164 | 100 |
The Division of Fowler is one of Australia's most multicultural communities with a very high percentage of migrants and first generation Australians. As at the Australian 2016 Census the breakdown of country of birth was;
| Country of birth | Fowler | % |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 65,666 | 40.0 |
| Other top responses | ||
| Vietnam | 24,999 | 15.2 |
| Iraq | 11,246 | 6.8 |
| Cambodia | 5,568 | 3.4 |
| China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) | 3,577 | 2.2 |
| India | 2,589 | 1.6 |
Highlighting Fowler's high multicultural population as compared the general Australia population. 76.1% of population of Fowler had both parents born overseas. While the general percentage of all Australians with both parents born overseas is 47%.
| Country of birth of father and/or mother, stated responses | Fowler | % | New South Wales | % | Australia | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Both parents born overseas | 124,918 | 76.1 | 2,764,170 | 37.0 | 8,051,196 | 34.4 |
| Father only born overseas | 5,448 | 3.3 | 458,394 | 6.1 | 1,488,092 | 6.4 |
| Mother only born overseas | 3,991 | 2.4 | 325,182 | 4.3 | 1,094,591 | 4.7 |
| Both parents born in Australia | 18,096 | 11.0 | 3,399,725 | 45.4 | 11,070,538 | 47.3 |
Median weekly income
The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Fowler (Commonwealth Electoral Divisions) was $452.
| Median weekly incomes
People aged 15 years and over |
Fowler | % | New South Wales | % | Australia | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | 452 | -- | 664 | -- | 662 | -- |
| Family | 1,275 | -- | 1,780 | -- | 1,734 | -- |
| Household | 1,212 | -- | 1,486 | -- | 1,438 | -- |
Employment
There were 66,978 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Fowler (Commonwealth Electoral Divisions). Of these 56.7% were employed full time, 27.7% were employed part-time and 10.5% were unemployed. Unemployment is significantly higher that the NSW State figure of 6.3% and the National figure of 6.9%
| Employment
People who reported being in the labour force, aged 15 years and over |
Fowler | % | New South Wales | % | Australia | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worked full-time | 37,975 | 56.7 | 2,134,521 | 59.2 | 6,623,065 | 57.7 |
| Worked part-time | 18,565 | 27.7 | 1,071,151 | 29.7 | 3,491,503 | 30.4 |
| Away from work | 3,425 | 5.1 | 174,654 | 4.8 | 569,276 | 5.0 |
| Unemployed | 7,013 | 10.5 | 225,546 | 6.3 | 787,452 | 6.9 |
Members
| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Ted Grace (1931–2020) |
Labor | 1 December 1984 – 31 August 1998 |
Retired | |
 |
Julia Irwin (1951–) |
Labor | 3 October 1998 – 19 July 2010 |
Retired | |
|
Chris Hayes (1955–) |
Labor | 21 August 2010 – 11 April 2022 |
Previously held the Division of Werriwa. Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Gillard and Rudd. Retired | |
 |
Dai Le (1968–) |
Independent | 21 May 2022 – present |
Incumbent |
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Kristina Keneally | 30,973 | 36.06 | −18.48 | |
| Independent | Dai Le | 25,346 | 29.51 | +29.51 | |
| Liberal | Courtney Nguyen | 14,740 | 17.16 | −12.89 | |
| United Australia | Lela Panich | 5,512 | 6.42 | +2.09 | |
| Greens | Avery Howard | 4,191 | 4.88 | −0.66 | |
| One Nation | Tony Margos | 3,047 | 3.55 | +3.55 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Runge | 2,094 | 2.44 | +2.44 | |
| Total formal votes | 85,903 | 89.48 | +2.59 | ||
| Informal votes | 10,098 | 10.52 | −2.59 | ||
| Turnout | 96,001 | 88.54 | −1.50 | ||
| Notional two-party-preferred count | |||||
| Labor | Kristina Keneally | 47,864 | 55.72 | –8.27 | |
| Liberal | Courtney Nguyen | 38,039 | 44.28 | +8.27 | |
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Independent | Dai Le | 44,348 | 51.63 | +51.63 | |
| Labor | Kristina Keneally | 41,555 | 48.37 | −15.62 | |
| Independent gain from Labor | |||||
References
- "Fowler - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- "2016 Fowler, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- "Fowler - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- "Liberal Party doles out 10-year suspension after councillor's independent mayor bid". ABC News. 16 August 2016.
- Fowler, NSW, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.