Electoral district of The Hills
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The Hills was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1962 to 2007. It was a 51.08 km² urban electorate in Sydney's north-west, taking in the suburbs of Carlingford, Castle Hill, Cherrybrook, Glenhaven, Kellyville, Pennant Hills and West Pennant Hills. There were 44,961 electors enrolled in the district as of the 1999 state election.
The Hills electorate was first contested in 1962, and has been a comfortably safe seat for the conservative Liberal Party of Australia ever since its inception. It has tended to have long-serving members throughout its history, only having seen four members in more than forty years. Max Ruddock (who has a park named after him at Winston Hills held the seat from 1962 until his death in 1976, and was replaced by local mayor Fred Caterson, who won more than 70% of the vote in the subsequent by-election. Caterson served until 1990, when he retired and was replaced by used car dealer Tony Packard. In contrast to his predecessors, Packard only lasted three years, and resigned amidst scandal in 1993. Although there was some speculation that the Liberal Party may lose the seat at the resulting 1993 by-election, Liberal candidate Michael Richardson won easily and has been easily returned at every subsequent election.
The district was abolished from the 2007 state election as a result of the 2004 electoral redistribution. Much of the electorate was moved to the new electorate of Castle Hill, with the remaining territory being split between Hawkesbury, Hornsby and Epping.
[edit] Members for The Hills
| Member | Party affiliation | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Max Ruddock | Liberal Party of Australia | 1962-1976 |
| Fred Caterson | Liberal Party of Australia | 1976-1990 |
| Tony Packard | Liberal Party of Australia | 1990-1993 |
| Michael Richardson | Liberal Party of Australia | 1993-2007 |
