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Division of Farrer | Fisher |
 Sussan Ley (Lib) Her electorate website |  | Location: Western NSW: Albury, Balranald, Broken Hill, Deniliquin Division named for: William Farrer, agricultural scientist Median weekly family income: $787 (121st highest) Persons born in non English speaking countries: 3.2% (137th highest) Persons in professional occupations: 28.4% (47th highest) Persons engaged in agriculture: 16.7% (11th highest) Persons aged 65 and over: 15.1% (34th highest) Couple families with dependent children: 36.8% (96th highest) Dwellings being purchased: 23.1% (94th highest) Sitting member: Hon Sussan Ley (Liberal), elected 2001, 2004 Born: 14 December 1961, Nigeria. Career: Air traffic controller, commercial pilot, wool and beef farmer, Director Australian Taxation Office. Parliamentary Secretary for Children and Youth Affairs 2004-06, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 2006-07. Member, Opposition Shadow Ministry from 2007. Shadow Minister for Housing 2007-08, Shadow Minister for the Status of Women 2007-08. Shadow Minister for Justice and Customs from 22 September 2008 1996 two-party majority: National 21.2 1998 two-party majority: National 14.6 Effect of 2001 redistribution: 00.5 shift to Labor 2001 two-candidate majority: Liberal over National 00.1 2004 two-party majority: Liberal 19.8 Effect of 2006 redistribution: 04.4 shift to Labor 2007 notional two-party majority: Liberal 15.4 2007 two-party majority: Liberal 11.2 
2004 enrolment: 85,712 2007 enrolment: 93,926 (+09.6%) (new boundaries) Farrer was created in 1949, as a rural seat in southern NSW based on Albury and Wagga Wagga, both Liberal strongholds - the Liberal Party was founded in Albury in 1944. In 1984 it was extended westwards along the Murray to the South Australian border, and Wagga Wagga was removed, and on these boundaries it was won by the National Party. The 2006 redistribution changed the seat again, extending it northwards to the Queensland border, and including the mining centre of Broken Hill, which has been a Labor bastion for more than a century. Since the abolition of the old seat of Darling in 1977, Broken Hill has been a problem for redistribution commissioners, since it is no longer big enough to have an electorate to itself, but has no community of interest with the farming communities to its east. It has now been included successively in Riverina, Parkes and Farrer. The inclusion of Broken Hill reduced the Liberal majority in Farrer considerably, but not enough to put the seat at risk. Members for Farrer have included Liberal ministers Sir David Fairbairn and Wal Fife, and National Party Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer. Sussan Ley (pronounced Lee) has held the seat for the Liberals since her upset victory following Fischer's retirement in 2001. Every member for Farrer has held ministerial office: Ley was a parliamentary secretary in the last term of the Howard government. She is perfectly safe in this seat, although on these boundaries it might well revert to the Nationals in a three-cornered contest. In 2007 the Liberals won all rural booths, most by wide margins (more than 90% of the two-party vote at Blighty, Emery, Mayrung and The Retreat, and won all the booths in Albury, Corowa and Deniliquin. Labor won only the Broken Hill and Menindee booths, polling more than 70% at Exelsior and Hillside. | | 
Two-party vote by booth (north)
Click to enlarge map Two-party swing by booth (north)
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