Division of Newcastle

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

 

This article is about the Australian federal electorate. For the New South Wales state electorate, see Electoral district of Newcastle. For the historical South Australian state electorate, see Electoral district of Newcastle (South Australia).

Newcastle
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Newcastle in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election
Created1901
MPSharon Claydon
PartyLabor
NamesakeNewcastle
Electors122,587 (2022)
Area171 km2 (66.0 sq mi)
DemographicProvincial

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.[1]

History
The city of Newcastle, the division's namesake

The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. The division was named after the city of Newcastle, around which the division is centred.

It has been held by the Australian Labor Party for its entire existence. Historically, it has been one of that party's safest non-metropolitan seats; the Hunter Region is one of the few country regions where Labor consistently does well. Labor has never tallied less than 58 percent of the Two-party-preferred vote in a general election, and has only come close to losing it once, when it tallied 53 percent in a 1935 by-election. It is the only original division to be held by just one party since the first federal election.

The Division of Newcastle has had just six members since 1901, the fewest of any of the original divisions. From 1901 to 1958, the seat was held by the Watkins family. The seat's first member, David Watkins, held the seat until his death in 1935. The ensuing by-election was won by his son, David Oliver. Allan Morris' brother Peter Morris was also a Member of the House, holding the Division of Shortland, which lies immediately to the south. Charles Jones' brother Sam was the member for Waratah in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for much of the time that he was the member. The electoral district of Waratah lay within the boundaries of the Division of Newcastle.

The seat's most prominent members were David Watkins, the second-longest serving member of the First Parliament, and Charles Jones, a minister in the Whitlam government. The current Member, since the 2013 federal election, is Sharon Claydon.

Members
Image Member Party Term Notes
  David Watkins
(1865–1935)		 Labor 29 March 1901 –
8 April 1935		 Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Wallsend. Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Fisher. Died in office. Son was David Oliver Watkins
  David Oliver Watkins
(1896–1971)		 Labor 1 June 1935 –
14 October 1958		 Retired. Father was David Watkins
  Charles Jones
(1917–2003)		 Labor 22 November 1958 –
4 February 1983		 Served as minister under Whitlam. Retired
  Allan Morris
(1940–)		 Labor 5 March 1983 –
8 October 2001		 Retired
  Sharon Grierson
(1951–)		 Labor 10 November 2001 –
5 August 2013		 Retired
  Sharon Claydon
(1964–)		 Labor 7 September 2013 –
present		 Incumbent. Current Deputy Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.

Election results
Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Newcastle
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2022 Australian federal election in New South Wales § Newcastle.[edit]
2022 Australian federal election: Newcastle[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Sharon Claydon 46,551 44.07 −1.66
Liberal Katrina Wark 25,816 24.44 −4.77
Greens Charlotte McCabe 21,195 20.07 +4.51
One Nation Mark Watson 4,757 4.50 +4.50
Animal Justice Emily Brollo 2,549 2.41 −0.79
United Australia Amanda Cook 2,517 2.38 −0.99
Informed Medical Options William Hussey 1,140 1.08 +1.08
Australian Federation Garth Pywell 1,102 1.04 +1.04
Total formal votes 105,627 94.59 +0.10
Informal votes 6,038 5.41 −0.10
Turnout 111,665 91.19 −1.53
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Sharon Claydon 71,807 67.98 +4.15
Liberal Katrina Wark 33,820 32.02 −4.15
Labor hold Swing+4.15
Primary votes results in Newcastle

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

32.841°S 151.753°E / -32.841; 151.753

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