Gaven is an

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. It was created out of the former district of

Nerang Nerang is a town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Nerang had a population of 16,864 people. Geography The Nerang River flows through the locality from south to east, passing through the town. The river u ...

and the southern segment of

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

in the 2001 redistribution, and encompasses the northern growth corridor of the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

. The current Member of Parliament is

Meaghan Scanlon Meaghan Alana Jenkins Scanlon is an Australian politician and lawyer. She has been the Labor member for Gaven in the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2017 and is currently serving as the Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier R ...

of the Labor Party.

History

Gaven was created in 1999, named after the Gaven Way (a section of the Pacific Motorway). When it was created, it was a notionally conservative seat, part of the old South Coast electorate held for 14 years by

Russ Hinze Russell James Hinze (19 June 1919 – 29 June 1991) was a politician in Queensland, Australia, in the 1970s and 1980s. He presided over an era of controversy that included the setting up of the Racing Development Fund, ministerial re-zonings an ...

(commonly known as Sir Joh's "Minister for Everything"), and was contested for the conservative National Party by the incumbent member for Albert,

Bill Baumann William Francis Baumann (born 12 October 1942) is a former Australian politician. He was the National Party member for Albert in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1995 to 2001. Born in Southport, Baumann was chairman of Coachtrans A ...

, at the 2001 election. However, amid a statewide landslide victory for the Labor Party, the seat fell to union organiser Robert Poole with a 14.6% swing. The National Party agreed to let their coalition partner, the more urban

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

contest the seat at the 2004 election, and though they nominated former Gold Coast mayor

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...

, Poole was returned with only a slight swing against him. Poole became the subject of increasing controversy during his second term, as he spent much of his term out of the state, living with his family in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. This reached its peak in 2006 when Poole revealed that he intended to spend the first half the year in Thailand while he recovered from surgery. A furious Premier

Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the state leader of the Labor Party from 1996 to 2007. Beattie was born in Sy ...

demanded that Poole return or face having his seat formally declared vacant, and Poole subsequently resigned from the seat in late February. The Liberal-National Coalition made the decision for the National Party, not the Liberals, to contest the seat at the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, which was won by around 1,500 votes by Alex Douglas, the National Party candidate, over Labor’s Phil Gray. The 2006 state election saw Alex Douglas and Phil Gray once again running against each other. Phil Gray won the seat for Labor by a little under 2,000 votes. The 2009 state election saw Douglas and Gray pitted against each other for a third consecutive time. On this occasion, Douglas, running under the banner of the newly formed Liberal National Party, narrowly emerged as the victor.

became the first woman to represent the seat, winning the seat for Labor in 2017 and holding it with a swing in her favor at the 2020 Queensland election.

History

Members for Gaven

Election results

See also

References

External links