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Division of Chisholm

Coordinates: 37°51′54″S 145°07′23″E / 37.865°S 145.123°E / -37.865; 145.123
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Chisholm
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Chisholm in Victoria, as of the 2022 federal election
Created1949
MPCarina Garland
PartyLabor
NamesakeCaroline Chisholm
Electors109,973 (2022)
Area65 km2 (25.1 sq mi)
DemographicInner metropolitan
Electorates around Chisholm:
Kooyong Menzies Deakin
Higgins Chisholm Aston
Hotham Hotham Bruce

The Division of Chisholm (/ˈɪzəm/) is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The Division was created in 1949 and is named after Caroline Chisholm, a social worker and promoter of women's immigration.[1] The Division is an Inner Metropolitan area.[1]

The Division's current MP is Carina Garland of the Australian Labor Party. The constituency is considered a key marginal constituency targeted by both Labor and the Liberal Party of Australia.[2]

Geography

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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.[3]

Since 2022, the Division has encompassed the suburbs of Ashwood, Blackburn, Blackburn South, Box Hill, Box Hill South, Burwood, Burwood East, Glen Waverley, Laburnum, Mount Waverley, Notting Hill, Syndal and Wheelers Hill. Additionally, the Division also includes parts of Chadstone, Clayton, Mulgrave and Oakleigh.[1]

The Division of Chisholm consists of part of the local government areas of Monash City Council and Whitehorse City Council.[1]

Demographics

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The Division of Chisholm has a diverse population, with around 54% of its residents being born overseas. Approximately 55% of the population speak a language other than English at home, with Chinese Australians making around 30% of the population.[4] The seat has the largest Chinese community of any electorate in all of Australia.

History

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Caroline Chisholm, the division's namesake

On its original boundaries, it was a comfortably safe Liberal seat centred on Camberwell. However, successive redistributions from 1980 onward have moved the electorate south-east, taking in strongly Labor-voting suburbs to balance out the relatively affluent Liberal-leaning suburbs in the north of the seat, and making the seat marginal. The first member for Chisholm, Sir Wilfrid Kent Hughes, was one of Australia's most distinguished soldiers and a former Olympian, who held the seat until his death on 31 July 1970.

Labor finally took the seat in the 1983 landslide that brought Bob Hawke to power, only to lose it in 1987. Anna Burke became the second Labor member ever to win it in 1998 election and held it until her retirement in 2016. Julia Banks won the seat for the Liberals at the 2016 election, becoming the only Liberal challenger to take a seat from Labor at that election. Taking this seat off Labor turned out to be crucial in ensuring the Coalition retaining its majority; it meant they had 76 seats, as opposed to the 75 they would have had if Labor had retained this seat.

On 27 November 2018, Banks resigned from the Liberal Party due to disaffection with the party resulting from the leadership spill which removed Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister and the treatment of women within the party. Banks announced she would sit on the crossbench as an independent, but guarantee confidence and supply to the Morrison government.[5]

Gladys Liu won Chisholm in the 2019 election for the Liberal Party against Jennifer Yang by less than 0.6%, becoming the first Chinese Australian to enter the lower house.[6][7]

In 2022, Labor's Dr Carina Garland won the seat from Liberal incumbent Liu. The loss of the seat in 2022 to Labor has been attributed to the notably large swings against the Liberal Party among Chinese Australian voters which has cost the Liberal Party many key seats.[8]

Members

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Image Member Party Term Notes
  Sir Wilfrid Kent Hughes
(1895–1970)
Liberal 10 December 1949
31 July 1970
Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Kew. Served as minister under Menzies. Died in office
  Tony Staley
(1939–2023)
19 September 1970
19 September 1980
Served as minister under Fraser. Retired
  Graham Harris
(1937–)
18 October 1980
5 March 1983
Lost seat
  Helen Mayer
(1932–2008)
Labor 5 March 1983
11 July 1987
Lost seat
  Michael Wooldridge
(1956–)
Liberal 11 July 1987
3 October 1998
Served as minister under Howard. Transferred to the Division of Casey
  Anna Burke
(1966–)
Labor 3 October 1998
9 May 2016
Served as Speaker during the Gillard and Rudd Governments. Retired
  Julia Banks
(1962–)
Liberal 2 July 2016
27 November 2018
Did not contest in 2019. Failed to win the Division of Flinders
  Independent 27 November 2018 –
18 May 2019
  Gladys Liu
(1964–)
Liberal 18 May 2019
21 May 2022
Lost seat
  Carina Garland Labor 21 May 2022
present
Incumbent

Election results

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2022 Australian federal election: Chisholm[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Carina Garland 38,692 40.09 +3.77
Liberal Gladys Liu 35,038 36.30 −7.70
Greens Sarah Newman 12,130 12.57 +1.94
United Australia Melanie Kempson 2,295 2.38 +0.22
Liberal Democrats Ethelyn King 1,620 1.68 +1.68
Independent Dominique Murphy 1,590 1.65 +1.65
One Nation Aaron Tyrrell 1,377 1.43 +1.43
Animal Justice Rod Whitfield 1,122 1.16 −0.09
Justice Thomas Stanfield 946 0.98 −0.45
Independent Wayne Tseng 757 0.78 +0.78
Australian Federation Anthea Antonie 567 0.59 +0.59
Australian Citizens Ryan Dare 384 0.40 +0.40
Total formal votes 96,518 95.30 −0.44
Informal votes 4,763 4.70 +0.44
Turnout 101,281 92.20 −2.61
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Carina Garland 54,448 56.41 +6.86
Liberal Gladys Liu 42,070 43.59 −6.86
Labor gain from Liberal Swing +6.86
Two-party-preferred vote results in Chisholm

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Australian Electoral Commission. "Profile of the electoral division of Chisholm (Vic)". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  2. ^ "'For the first time ever I'm undecided': This seat could decide who forms government, but what are voters saying?". ABC News. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  3. ^ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  4. ^ "2021 Chisholm, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  5. ^ Chang, Charis (27 November 2018). "Julia Banks delivers scathing review of major parties after resigning from the Liberal Party". news.com.au. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Gladys Liu becomes first Chinese-Australian woman to enter lower house". SBS News. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  7. ^ Dziedzic, foreign affairs reporter Stephen (21 May 2019). "Morrison secures majority Government with historic win of first female Chinese-Australian MP in Chisholm". ABC News. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  8. ^ Knott, Matthew. "Chinese-Australian voters punished Coalition for hostile rhetoric". Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  9. ^ Chisholm, VIC, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.
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37°51′54″S 145°07′23″E / 37.865°S 145.123°E / -37.865; 145.123