Chisholm                 |
Division of Cook |                 Corangamite |
Scott Morrison (Lib) His electorate website | Location: Sydney: Caringbah, Cronulla, Miranda, Sylvania Division named for: Captain James Cook, explorer of the east coast of Australia Median weekly family income: $1,299 (18th highest) Persons born in non English speaking countries: 9.3% (76th highest) Persons in professional occupations: 29.2% (44th highest) Persons aged 65 and over: 15.3% (32nd highest) Couple families with dependent children: 36.4% (101st highest) Dwellings being purchased: 23.3% (92nd highest) Sitting member: Scott Morrison (Liberal), elected 2007 Born: 13 May 1968, Sydney. Career: Educated University of NSW. National Manager, Policy and Research Property Council of Australia 1989-95, Deputy Chief Executive, Australian Tourism Task Force 1995-96, General Manager, Tourism Council 1996-98, Director, New Zealand Office of Tourism and Sport 1998-2000. NSW State Director, Liberal Party 2000-04, Managing Director, Tourism Australia 2004-06. Member, Opposition Shadow Ministry from 2008. Shadow Minister for Housing and Local Government from 22 September 2008 1996 two-party majority: Liberal 12.3 1998 two-party majority: Liberal 08.9 Effect of 2001 redistribution: 00.5 shift to Liberal 2001 two-party majority: Liberal 14.1 2004 two-party majority: Liberal 13.8 Effect of 2006 redistribution: no change 2007 notional two-party majority: Liberal 13.8 2007 two-party majority: Liberal 06.6 2004 enrolment: 82,675 2007 enrolment: 93,396 (+13.0%) (new boundaries) Cook was created in 1969, based in the southern suburbs of Sydney between Botany Bay and Port Hacking (there was an earlier seat of Cook in inner Sydney, which was abolished in 1955). It is a solidly middle-class area with a high proportion of people in professional occupations. In the 1970s these were fairly new suburbs with a high level of families with children and people paying mortgages. Today the population is mainly older home-owners, with a low proportion of people born in non English speaking countries. Cook was politically marginal when it was created, but grew steadily safer for the Liberals in the 1980s and '90s. The seat's core suburbs, Carringbah, Cronulla, Gymea and Sylvania, are solidly Liberal, although Labor holds the state seat of Miranda. Bruce Baird, a former NSW Liberal state minister, won Cook in 1998. Baird expected to be a minister when he came to Canberra, but was disappointed, and retired in 2007. The Liberal preselection turned into a factional brawl from which Michael Towke emerged as the candidate. Following serious allegations of branch stacking against Towke, he was disendorsed and replaced by former state Liberal Party director Scott Morrison. This controversy gave Labor some hope of winning the seat but although there was a swing of 6.7% Morrison won fairly easily. The Liberals polled 69% of the two-party vote at Dolans Bay and also topped 65% at Burraneer Bay, Lilli Pilli and Sylvania Waters. Labor polled 60% at Bundeena. |   |
Two-party vote by booth, 2007
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