The Division of Riverina is an
Australian electoral division in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
Geography
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.
History
The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the
original 65 divisions to be contested at the
first federal election, although it was abolished between 1984 and 1993, so has not been contested at every federal election. The division was named after the
Riverina region in which it is located, though its modern borders do not correspond exactly with the Riverina region. The division covers a primarily agricultural, rural area with many small towns.
In the 1984 redistribution, the division was abolished and replaced by
Riverina-Darling, but in the 1993 redistribution it was re-created.
Since its re-creation in 1993, it has been a safe Nationals seat. Its first incarnation tilted toward the Nationals' predecessor, the Country Party, for much of its history, but was occasionally taken by
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
during high-tide elections. It was fairly marginal for most of the 1970s and early 1980s, when it included the strongly pro-Labor
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...
towns of
Broken Hill
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It ...
and
Cobar which have now been transferred to
Farrer Farrer may refer to
People
* Alisha Farrer (born 1943), Australian actress and model
* Austin Farrer (1904–1968), English theologian, philosopher, and friend of C. S. Lewis
* Buster Farrer (1936-), South African cricketer
* Claude Farrer (1862� ...
and
Parkes.
The division is located in South-West rural New South Wales, generally following the
Murrumbidgee River valley. It includes the larger city of
Wagga Wagga
Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's ...
, as well as the towns of
Cowra,
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
,
Junee,
Cootamundra
Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. I ...
,
Temora,
West Wyalong,
Young,
Tumut and
Gundagai
Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Hon ...
. The
Sturt Highway
Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions situated adjacent to the r ...
runs along the length of the division, and it contains a large section of the
Newell Highway.
The Division of Riverina also contains the major town of
Parkes which has the same name as the bordering
Division of Parkes
The Division of Parkes is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.
History
The former Division of Parkes (1901–69) was located in suburban Sydney, and was not related to this division, except in name.
The divisio ...
.
The seat has previously been held by
Al Grassby, Minister for Immigration in the
Whitlam Government. The current Member for Riverina, since the
2010 federal election, is
Michael McCormack, former Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fed ...
from 2018 to 2021.
Members
Election results
References
External links
Division of Riverina – Australian Electoral Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riverina, Division of
Electoral divisions of Australia
Constituencies established in 1901
Constituencies disestablished in 1984
Constituencies established in 1993
1901 establishments in Australia
1984 disestablishments in Australia
1993 establishments in Australia