Division of Hughes
| Hughes Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of electorate boundaries | |
| Created | 1955 |
| MP | David Moncrieff |
| Party | Labor |
| Namesake | Billy Hughes |
| Electors | 98,849 (2025) |
| Area | 380 km2 (146.7 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Outer metropolitan |
The Division of Hughes is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.
History
[edit]
The division was created in 1955 and is named for Billy Hughes, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. Originally a marginal Labor seat, it was taken by the Liberals in their 1966 landslide.[1] However, the Liberal margin was redistributed away in 1968 when most of its Liberal-friendly territory was shifted to newly created Cook, and Labor won it back on a large swing. It remained in Labor hands for the next quarter-century, though it became increasingly marginal from 1984 onward.
It was one of many marginal seats taken by the Liberals in the 1996 landslide. The Liberals held it up until 2025, although they came close to losing it in the 2007 Labor landslide – and for 30 years it was generally considered to be a safe Liberal seat.[1]
The member for Hughes between the 2010 federal election and the 2022 Australian federal election was Craig Kelly. He served as a Liberal until he resigned from the party to sit as an Independent in February 2021,[2] before joining Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party in August 2021.[3] In the 2022 Australian federal election, the Liberal Party of Australia won the seat back, with Jenny Ware becoming the new MP. Jenny Ware held the seat for the Liberals for one term before losing it to Labor in the 2025 Australian federal election. The current member for Hughes is David Moncrieff, who won the seat for Labor in 2025 in a surprise victory after 30 years as a Liberal seat.[4]
Boundaries
[edit]Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.[5]
The division is located in the southern and southwestern suburbs of Sydney, including Alfords Point, Bangor, Barden Ridge, Bonnet Bay, Bundeena, Como, Engadine, Garie Beach, Grays Point, Hammondville, Heathcote, Holsworthy, Illawong, Jannali, Kareela, Kirrawee, Loftus, Lucas Heights, Maianbar, Menai, Oyster Bay, Pleasure Point, Sandy Point, Sutherland, Voyager Point, Waterfall, Wattle Grove, Woronora, Woronora Heights, and Yarrawarrah; as well as parts of Audley, Gymea, Moorebank, Royal National Park, and Sylvania. The Liverpool Military Area—comprising Holsworthy Barracks and Steele Barracks—is also located in the electorate.
Members
[edit]| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
Les Johnson (1924–2015) |
Labor | 10 December 1955 – 26 November 1966 |
Lost seat | |
|
Don Dobie (1927–1996) |
Liberal | 26 November 1966 – 25 October 1969 |
Transferred to the Division of Cook | |
|
Les Johnson (1924–2015) |
Labor | 25 October 1969 – 19 December 1983 |
Served as minister under Whitlam. Resigned to become Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand | |
|
Robert Tickner (1951–) |
18 February 1984 – 2 March 1996 |
Served as minister under Hawke and Keating. Lost seat | ||
|
Danna Vale (1944–) |
Liberal | 2 March 1996 – 19 July 2010 |
Served as minister under Howard. Retired | |
|
Craig Kelly (1963–) |
21 August 2010 – 23 February 2021 |
Lost seat | ||
| Independent | 23 February 2021 – 23 August 2021 | ||||
| United Australia | 23 August 2021 – 21 May 2022 | ||||
|
Jenny Ware (1970–) |
Liberal | 21 May 2022 – 3 May 2025 |
Lost seat | |
|
|
David Moncrieff |
Labor | 3 May 2025 – present |
Incumbent | |
Election results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | David Moncrieff | 35,752 | 39.11 | +11.19 | |
| Liberal | Jenny Ware | 33,916 | 37.11 | −3.29 | |
| Greens | Catherine Dyson | 10,049 | 10.99 | +4.56 | |
| One Nation | Deborah Swinbourn | 4,794 | 5.24 | +1.79 | |
| Trumpet of Patriots | Alex Scarfone | 2,493 | 2.73 | +2.73 | |
| Family First | Nathaniel David Marsh | 2,060 | 2.25 | +2.25 | |
| Libertarian | Elvis Sinosic | 1,794 | 1.96 | +1.96 | |
| Citizens | David A. W. Miller | 547 | 0.60 | +0.60 | |
| Total formal votes | 91,405 | 92.47 | −2.36 | ||
| Informal votes | 7,444 | 7.53 | +2.36 | ||
| Turnout | 98,849 | 86.01 | −6.08 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | David Moncrieff | 47,963 | 52.47 | +5.93 | |
| Liberal | Jenny Ware | 43,442 | 47.53 | −5.93 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Jenny Ware | 42,148 | 43.49 | −9.67 | |
| Labor | Riley Campbell | 21,828 | 22.52 | −7.94 | |
| Independent | Georgia Steele | 13,891 | 14.33 | +14.33 | |
| United Australia | Craig Kelly | 7,186 | 7.42 | +4.94 | |
| Greens | Pete Thompson | 6,118 | 6.31 | −0.63 | |
| Independent | Linda Seymour | 3,138 | 3.24 | +3.24 | |
| One Nation | Narelle Seymour | 2,600 | 2.68 | +2.68 | |
| Total formal votes | 96,909 | 95.67 | +0.84 | ||
| Informal votes | 4,387 | 4.33 | −0.84 | ||
| Turnout | 101,296 | 94.42 | −0.40 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal | Jenny Ware | 55,244 | 57.01 | −2.84 | |
| Labor | Riley Campbell | 41,665 | 42.99 | +2.84 | |
| Liberal hold | Swing | −2.84 | |||
indicates at what stage the winning candidate had over 50% of the votes and was declared the winner.References
[edit]- ^ a b "Hughes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Craig Kelly quits Liberal party to move to the crossbench". TheGuardian.com. 23 February 2021.
- ^ "United Australia Party leader Craig Kelly defends spam messages". 29 August 2021.
- ^ Ross, Isabella; Vidal, Paulina (3 May 2025). "Liberals hold just a handful of NSW seats as Labor, Teal vote surges". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ Hughes, NSW, 2025 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.
- ^ Hughes, NSW, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.