The Division of Barton is an
Australian electoral division in the
state of
New South Wales.
History
The division was created in 1922 and is named for
Sir Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to b ...
, the first
Prime Minister of Australia. For most of its history, Barton has been a
marginal
Marginal may refer to:
* ''Marginal'' (album), the third album of the Belgian rock band Dead Man Ray, released in 2001
* ''Marginal'' (manga)
* '' El Marginal'', Argentine TV series
* Marginal seat or marginal constituency or marginal, in polit ...
seat. Although it was held by the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms th ...
for most of the time after 1940, it has been won by the
Liberals (or their predecessors) at "high-tide" elections.
Barton's most prominent member has been
Dr H. V. Evatt, who was Leader of the Labor Party between 1951 and 1960. After seeing his majority more than halved in 1949, and nearly being defeated in 1951 and 1955, he transferred to the safe seat of
Hunter
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
in 1958. A former minister in the
Hawke and
Keating ministries,
Gary Punch
Gary Francis Punch (born 21 August 1957) is a former Australian politician and government minister.
Punch was born in Arncliffe, New South Wales and educated at Hurstville Boys High School and subsequently obtained a commerce degree. He was a ...
, held the seat for Labor between 1983 and 1996.
Robert McClelland,
Attorney-General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
in the
Rudd
''Scardinius'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for individual species, particularly the common rudd (''S. erythrophthalmus''). T ...
and
Gillard governments, held the seat for Labor between 1996 and 2013.
The Division of Barton is linked to one of the more unusual episodes in Australian politics. The first member for Barton, Labor's
Frederick McDonald, disappeared after his 1925 defeat by
Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
Thomas Ley
Thomas John Ley (28 October 188024 July 1947) was an Australian politician who was convicted of murder in England. He is widely suspected to have been involved in the deaths of a number of people in Australia, including political rivals.
Early ...
, and it is now believed that Ley had him murdered. After being found guilty of an unrelated murder in England in 1947, Ley was declared insane and died in
Broadmoor Asylum
Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Sec ...
four months later.
Nickolas Varvaris
Nickolas Varvaris (born 25 May 1974) is a former Australian politician. He was the Liberal member for the House of Representatives seat of Barton between 2013 and 2016. He recontested his seat at the 2016 election but lost to Labor's Linda Bur ...
won the seat for the
Liberals at the
2013 federal election, achieving a
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing ri ...
of 7.2 percent to finish with a
two-party-preferred vote
In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP, ...
of just 50.3 percent, which made Barton the
Coalition government's most marginal seat.
A redistribution prior to the
2016 federal election erased Varvaris' majority and gave Labor a notional vote of 54.4 percent. It was only after some sustained pressure that in May 2016, Varvaris eventually declared his intention to stand again. Former state deputy opposition leader
Linda Burney
Linda Jean Burney (born 25 April 1957) is an Australian politician and is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing Barton since the 2016 federal election. She is Minister for Indigenous Australi ...
contested the seat for Labor and won on a swing of 3.9 percent, making it a fairly safe Labor seat.
Boundaries
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the
Australian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums.
Responsibilities
The AEC's main responsibility is to ...
. 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.
The division has always been based in the inner southern suburbs of
Sydney, and currently includes the suburbs of
Arncliffe,
Banksia
''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range i ...
,
Bardwell Park,
Bardwell Valley
Bardwell Valley is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bardwell Valley is located approximately 12 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Baysid ...
,
Bexley
Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London, England and part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to differentiate the area from the wider borough. It is located east-southeast of Char ...
,
Bexley North
Bexley North is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney CBD. It is part of the St George area. Bexley North is in the local government area of the Bayside Council.
History
James Chandler ...
,
Brighton-Le-Sands,
Clemton Park
Clemton Park is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 13 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown. The suburb is approximately bounded by Cu ...
,
Earlwood
Earlwood is a suburb in Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Earlwood is located 10 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, and is part of the St George area. It is in the local government areas of ...
,
Kyeemagh
Kyeemagh ( ) is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 12 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, on the western shore of Botany Bay. Kyeemagh is in the local government area of the Bay ...
,
Rockdale,
Tempe,
Turrella,
Undercliffe, and
Wolli Creek
Wolli Creek () is an urban watercourse of the Cooks River catchment located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
Wolli Creek rises south of Narwee, within Beverly Hills Park, Beverly Hills, and f ...
; as well as parts of
Belmore,
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
,
Campsie,
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the ...
,
Carlton,
Dulwich Hill
Dulwich Hill is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 7.5 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Inner West Council. Dulwich Hill ...
,
Hurlstone Park
Hurlstone Park is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Hurlstone Park is located nine kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is mostly in the local government area of the City of Canterbur ...
,
Hurstville
Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Ri ...
,
Kingsgrove
Kingsgrove is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Kingsgrove is south of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, Bayside Council and the George ...
,
Kogarah
Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George area.
Loca ...
,
Marrickville
Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gov ...
, and
Penshurst
Penshurst is a historic village and civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, within the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England.
The village is sit ...
.
Members
Election results
References
External links
Division of Barton - Australian Electoral Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Division of
Electoral divisions of Australia
Constituencies established in 1922
1922 establishments in Australia