Division of Higgins

Higgins
Australian House of Representatives Division
Higgins; Australian House of Representatives Division
Created	1949
MP	Michelle Ananda-Rajah
Party	Labor
Namesake	H. B. Higgins
Area	39 km2 (15.1 sq mi)
Demographic	Inner Metropolitan

The Division of Higgins is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria.

H.B. Higgins

It was created in 1949 and is named after Justice H. B. Higgins (1851–1929). Higgins was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (1894), president of the Carlton Football Club (1904), a member of the Australian House of Representatives (1901–1906), and a judge of the High Court of Australia (1906–1929).

The Division of Higgins covers the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne, including Armadale, Ashburton, Malvern, Toorak and parts of Glen Iris, Camberwell, Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Prahran, and South Yarra.

Members

	Party	Term
Harold Holt	Liberal	1949–1967
John Gorton	Liberal	1968–1975
John Gorton	Independent	1975–1975
Roger Shipton	Liberal	1975–1990
Peter Costello	Liberal	1990–2009
Kelly O'Dwyer	Liberal	2009–present

Higgins has been important in Australian federal politics and for the Liberal Party of Australia. The seat's first two members, Harold Holt and Sir John Gorton, were the 17th and 19th Prime Ministers of Australia. Higgins is the only Division to have been held by two Prime Ministers.

Peter Costello the longest serving Treasurer of Australia and former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party also held the seat from 1990–2009. He resigned in 2009 which meant a by-election had to be held. There had also been a by-election in 1967, after Harold Holt disappeared in the sea.

Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Higgins^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Katie Allen	38,859	40.69	−5.84
	Labor	Michelle Ananda-Rajah	27,187	28.46	+2.39
	Greens	Sonya Semmens	21,632	22.65	−0.06
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Ford	2,648	2.77	+2.77
	United Australia	Ingram Spencer	1,917	2.01	+0.84
	Reason	Andrew Johnson	1,458	1.53	+1.53
	Animal Justice	Alicia Walker	1,295	1.36	−0.40
	Australian Federation	Suzie Menoudakis	515	0.54	+0.54
Total formal votes			95,511	97.18	−0.31
Informal votes			2,774	2.82	+0.31
Turnout			98,285	91.23	−2.45
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Michelle Ananda-Rajah	49,726	52.06	+4.67
	Liberal	Katie Allen	45,785	47.94	−4.67
	Labor gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.67

Division Of Higgins Media

H. B. Higgins, the division's namesake
Harold Holt, Treasurer of Australia, 1964
A black and white portrait of John Gorton, Prime Minister of Australia, taken in January 1968
Portrait of Peter Costello
The Hon Kelly O'Dwyer MP, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Minister for Women and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service