| Barton Australian House of Representatives Division |
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|---|---|
Division of Barton (green) in New South Wales |
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| Created: | 1922 |
| MP: | Robert McClelland |
| Party: | Labor |
| Namesake: | Sir Edmund Barton |
| Area: | 44 km² (17 sq mi) |
| Demographic: | Inner Metropolitan |
The Division of Barton is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1922 and is named for Sir Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia. It has always been based in the inner southern suburbs of Sydney, and currently includes the suburbs of Arncliffe, Banksia, Bardwell Valley, Beverley Park, Bexley, Bexley North, Brighton-Le-Sands, Carss Park, Dolls Point, Kogarah, Kogarah Bay, Kyeemagh, Monterey, Ramsgate, Ramsgate Beach, Rockdale, Sandringham, Sans Souci, Turrella and Wolli Creek and parts of Beverly Hills, Carlton, Earlwood and Kingsgrove. For most of its history Barton has been a marginal seat, changing hands regularly, but in recent years it has grown safer for the Australian Labor Party.
Barton's most prominent member has been Dr H.V. Evatt, who was Leader of the Labor Party 1951-60. Evatt nearly lost the seat in 1951 and 1955, and in 1958 he transferred to the safe seat of Hunter.
The Division of Barton is linked to one of the more unusual episodes in Australian politics. The first member for Barton, Labor's Frederick McDonald, disappeared after his 1925 defeat by Nationalist Thomas Ley, and it is now believed that Ley had him murdered.[1] Ley was later found to be insane and died in Broadmoor Asylum in Britain. The current member for Barton is the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland.
| Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick McDonald | Labor | 1922–1925 | |
| Thomas Ley | Nationalist | 1925–1928 | |
| James Tully | Labor | 1928–1931 | |
| Albert Lane | United Australia | 1931–1940 | |
| H. V. Evatt | Labor | 1940–1958 | |
| Leonard Reynolds | Labor | 1958–1966 | |
| William Arthur | Liberal | 1966–1969 | |
| Leonard Reynolds | Labor | 1969–1975 | |
| James Bradfield | Liberal | 1975–1983 | |
| Gary Punch | Labor | 1983–1996 | |
| Robert McClelland | Labor | 1996–present | |
| Australian federal election, 2010: Barton | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labor | Robert McClelland | 38,149 | 48.48 | -8.80 | |
| Liberal | John La Mela | 31,998 | 40.67 | +9.76 | |
| Greens | Simone Francis | 8,536 | 10.85 | +2.61 | |
| Total formal votes | 78,683 | 90.18 | -3.25 | ||
| Informal votes | 8,572 | 9.82 | +3.25 | ||
| Turnout | 87,255 | 91.61 | -3.44 | ||
| Two-candidate preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Robert McClelland | 44,742 | 56.86 | -8.08 | |
| Liberal | John La Mela | 33,941 | 43.14 | +8.08 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | -8.08 | |||
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