Division of Bennelong

The Division of Bennelong is an Australian electorate in New South Wales. The division was set up in 1949. It is named for Bennelong, an Indigenous Australian man who became a friend of the first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip. Bennelong includes the suburbs of Eastwood, Carlingford, Epping and Ryde.

Bennelong Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Bennelong (green) in New South Wales
Created	1949
MP	Jerome Laxale
Party	Labor
Namesake	Bennelong
Electors	98,915 (2010)
Area	58 km2 (22.4 sq mi)
Demographic	Inner Metropolitan

Bennelong

Electoral history

When the Division of Bennelong was created in 1949, it covered mainly the suburbs of Ryde, Hunters Hill and Lane Cove. These were (and still are) richer areas, and Bennelong was a "safe" Liberal seat.

Over the years Bennelong has changed into a marginal seat for two reasons. Firstly, the electoral boundary of Bennelong has been changed many times, where it has moved west into Labor voting areas. Rich suburbs like Lane Cove and Hunters Hill in the east are no longer included. The division now includes Eastwood, Epping, Carlingford and working class Ermington in the north and west. Secondly, the type of people living in the division has changed. Since the early 1990s, there has been an increase in migrants from China, Hong Kong, South Korea and India. These are wealthy and conservative people who would support the Liberal Party, but they have not like the Liberal policies on immigration and multiculturalism.

2007 federal election in Bennelong

An Epping polling booth within Bennelong.

In the Australian federal 2007 election, the Member for Bennelong, and Prime Minister John Howard, lost the seat to Labor candidate Maxine McKew, after holding it for 33 years. This was only the second time in Australian history that a Prime Minister had lost his own seat in Parliament. The first was Stanley Bruce in 1929.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	(Sir) John Cramer	Liberal	1949–1974
	John Howard	Liberal	1974–2007
	Maxine McKew	Labor	2007–2010
	John Alexander	Liberal	2010–present

Bennelong was held by the John Howard, the second longest serving Prime Minister of Australia. In 2010 the seat was won by former tennis star, John Alexander.

Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Bennelong
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Simon Kennedy	41,206	41.35	−9.47
	Labor	Jerome Laxale	37,596	37.73	+3.70
	Greens	Tony Adams	11,395	11.44	+1.97
	United Australia	Rhys Collyer	2,915	2.93	+0.97
	Fusion	John August	2,125	2.13	+2.13
	One Nation	Victor Waterson	1,664	1.67	+1.67
	Liberal Democrats	Dougal Cameron	1,539	1.54	+1.54
	Democratic Alliance	Kyinzom Dhongdue	1,208	1.21	+1.21
Total formal votes			99,648	94.20	−0.64
Informal votes			6,130	5.80	+0.64
Turnout			105,778	92.03	−1.29
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Jerome Laxale	50,801	50.98	+7.89
	Liberal	Simon Kennedy	48,847	49.02	−7.89
	Labor gain from Liberal		Swing	+7.89

Division Of Bennelong Media

• 

  John Cramer

• 

  Portrait of PM John Winston Howard. Circa 2001.

• 

  Maxine McKew Portrait 2007

• 

  John Gilbert Alexander (born 4 July 1951 in Sydney) is a former Professional Touring Tennis Player and current Australian Politician.

• Jerome-5125.jpg

  Hon. Jerome Laxale MP - Parliament of Australia

Other websites

• Division of Bennelong – Australian Electoral Commission
• John Alexander's website Archived 2013-05-29 at the Wayback Machine

Preceded by Blaxland

Division represented by the Prime Minister 1996–2007 John Howard

Succeeded by Griffith