| McPherson |
Division of Macquarie | Makin |
 Bob Debus (ALP) His ALP website  Kerry Bartlett (Lib) His Liberal Party website and his campaign website  Kirk Fletcher (LDP) His Liberty and Democracy website  Carmel McCallum (Grn) Her Greens website  Tim Williams (Ind) His website |
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Location: Central NSW: Bathurst, Katoomba, Lithgow, Springwood Division named for: Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of NSW 1810-21 Median weekly family income: $1,000 (50th highest) Persons born in non English speaking countries: 5.2% (103rd highest) Persons in professional occupations: 29.8% (42nd highest) Persons aged 65 and over: 11.9% (100th highest) Couple families with dependent children: 40.3% (45th highest) Dwellings being purchased: 30.2% (45th highest) Sitting member: Kerry Bartlett (Liberal), elected 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002 Born: 15 April 1949, Sydney. Career: School teacher, university tutor, financial planner Chief Government Whip from 18 July 2004 1996 two-party majority: Liberal 06.4 1998 two-party majority: Liberal 04.1 Effect of 2001 redistribution: 01.7 shift to Liberal 2001 two-party majority: Liberal 08.7 2004 primary votes: Labor 27.8, Liberal 53.3, Green 10.8 2004 two-party majority: Liberal 08.9 Effect of 2006 redistribution: 09.4 shift to Labor 2007 notional two-party majority: Labor 00.5 2004 enrolment: 87,517 2007 enrolment: 94,670 (+08.2%) (new boundaries) Macquarie has existed since Federation, and from 1901 to 1977 it was a regional seat based on Bathurst, Australia's oldest inland city. On these boundaries it was a Labor seat more often than not - its most distinguished member was Labor Prime Minister Ben Chifley. The 1977 redistribution made it a Blue Mountains and Penrith seat, and the 1984 redistribution removed Penrith and added the Hawkesbury, a strong Liberal area. On the 2004 boundaries, Macquarie had a high level of median family income and a fairly high proportion of people in professional occupations, reflecting the popularity of the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury for affluent exurbanites. It also had fairly high levels of families with dependent children and of dwellings being purchased, making it a mortgage belt seat. The 2006 redistribution has returned Macquarie to its old status as a regional seat, removing the Hawkesbury and restoring Bathurst and Lithgow, which were previously in Calare. This change will reduce the median income level of the seat, and make it more like other NSW regional seats. In 2004, in the part of the old seat of Macquarie which is still in the seat, the Liberals carried the three Springwood booths and a number of smaller booths, and also carried the Glenbrook and Lapstone booths which were formerly in Lindsay. Labor carried all five Katoomba booths, plus booths in Blackheath, Lawson, Leura and Wentworth Falls, among others. In the parts of Macquarie which were formerly in Calare, when the independent member Peter Andren's votes are redistributed between Labor and Liberal (a somewhat risky exercise), Labor wins a majority of votes in that area, carrying every booth in Bathurst and Lithgow, as well as old mining towns like Cullen Bullen, while the Liberals carried smaller country booths. Kerry Bartlett won the seat for the Liberals in 1996. Bartlett has strengthened the Liberal hold on the seat while also becoming Chief Government Whip. The redistribution, however, has given Macquarie a small notional Labor majority - although this is a rather soft figure given that half the seat was previously represented by an independent. In the current political climate Labor starts a clear favourite. Candidates in ballot-paper order Campaign newsBob Debus |
|  Two-party vote by booth, 2004
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