Division of Sturt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sturt
Australian House of Representatives Division
State or territory: South Australia
Created: 1949
MP: Christopher Pyne
Party: Liberal
Namesake: Charles Sturt
Electors: 98,154
Area: 84 km² (32.4 sq mi)
Demographic: Inner Metropolitan

The Division of Sturt is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia.

First proclaimed for the 1949 election, Sturt was named for Captain Charles Sturt, nineteenth century explorer and the first European to discover the Murray River. Stretching from Adelaide's mortgage belt suburbs in the centre-east to the wealthy south-eastern suburbs, Sturt has traditionally been a Liberal Party constituency and has been home to the Wilson political dynasty of father Keith and son Ian.

The 1954 election saw the Hon Norman Makin capture the marginal liberal seat, but before the 1955 election shifted to the new, safe seat of Bonython. The 1969 election saw a 16% swing against Ian Wilson temporarily unseating him, but he was returned at the 1972 election against the flow of Gough Whitlam's federal victory. Wilson was a key early member of the progressive Liberal Movement faction within the Liberal Party but refused to leave the Liberals when the Liberal Movement became a separate party. To show there was no love lost, the Liberal Movement ran a candidate in Sturt in the 1974 election, polling a healthy 7.2%, much of which derived from Wilson’s vote.

The Liberal Movement's successor party, the Australian Democrats, have traditionally polled well in Sturt, highlighted by 13.5% at their first showing in the 1977 election and 15% in the 1990 election, the best result by a minor party in Sturt. The Democrats vote has dropped sharply in recent years, they gained only 2.26% in the 2004 election. Additionally, an independent Liberal contested Sturt at the 1993 election, polling a respectable 14.6%.

At the 2007 federal election, sitting member Christopher Pyne suffered a two party preferred swing of 5.86 percent but retained the seat on 50.94 percent, against Labor candidate Mia Handshin, making Sturt the most marginal seat in South Australia. Prior to the pre-selection of Handshin, No Pokies MP Nick Xenophon had been considering running in the seat as an independent, before deciding to run for the Senate instead.

Contents

[edit] Members

Member Party Term
  Keith Wilson Liberal 1949—1954
  Norman Makin Labor 1954—1955
  Keith Wilson Liberal 1955—1966
  Ian Wilson Liberal 1966—1969
  Norman Foster Labor 1969—1972
  Ian Wilson Liberal 1972—1993
  Christopher Pyne Liberal 1993—present

[edit] Election results

Australian federal election, 2007: Sturt
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Christopher Pyne 42,731 47.17 -4.49
Labor Mia Handshin 37,565 41.46 +6.91
Greens Sally Reid 5,806 6.41 +0.35
Family First Carol Jensen 3,102 3.42 -1.36
Democrats Paul Rowse 1,054 1.17 -1.09
Liberty and Democracy Felicity Tilbrook 327 0.36 +0.36
Total formal votes 90,595 96.54 +1.58
Informal votes 3,249 3.46 -1.58
Turnout 93,844 95.61 +0.82
Two Candidate Preferred Result
Liberal Christopher Pyne 46,153 50.94 -5.86
Labor Mia Handshin 44,441 49.06 +5.86
Liberal hold Swing -5.86
Australian federal election, 2004: Sturt
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Christopher Pyne 45,007 51.66 +0.98
Labor Tony Barca 30,099 34.55 +5.21
Greens Zane Young 5,279 6.06 +2.28
Family First Sally McPherson 4,167 4.78 +4.78
Democrats Kerrin Pine 1,790 2.26 -9.01
One Nation Brian Richards 597 0.69 -2.41
Total formal votes 87,119 94.96 +0.77
Informal votes 4,624 5.04 -0.77
Turnout 91,743 94.79 -0.95
Two Candidate Preferred Result
Liberal Christopher Pyne 49,481 56.80 -1.69
Labor Tony Barca 37,638 43.20 +1.69
Liberal hold Swing -1.69
Australian federal election, 2001: Sturt
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Christopher Pyne 39,508 50.73 +2.84
Labor Lindsay Simmons 23,143 29.72 -2.03
Democrats Tim Farrow 8,438 10.83 -1.25
Greens Mark Cullen 3,257 4.18 +4.18
One Nation Brian Richards 2,451 3.15 -2.87
Independent Neil Aitchison 1,081 1.39 +1.39
Total formal votes 77,878 94.74 -0.86
Informal votes 4,322 5.26 +0.86
Turnout 82,200 95.53
Two Candidate Preferred Result
Liberal Christopher Pyne 45,310 58.18 +0.46
Labor Lindsay Simmons 32,568 41.82 -0.46
Liberal hold Swing +0.46

[edit] Historical Boundaries

Sturt in 1951
Sturt in 1951
Sturt in 1967
Sturt in 1967


[edit] External links

v • d • e
Electoral Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives in South Australia

Adelaide · Barker · Boothby · Grey · Hindmarsh · Kingston · Makin · Mayo · Port Adelaide · Sturt · Wakefield

Abolished: Angas (1903-34) · Angas (1949-77) · Bonython · Hawker · South Australia
Divisions in: New South Wales · Victoria · Queensland · Western Australia · South Australia · Tasmania · Australian Capital and Northern Territories