| Herbert |
Division of Higgins | Hindmarsh |
 Hon Peter Costello (Lib) No website |  |
Location: Melbourne: Ashburton, Malvern, Prahran, Toorak Division named for: Hon H B Higgins, member of the first federal Parliament, High Court judge Median weekly family income: $1,570 (6th highest) Persons born in non English speaking countries: 17.7% (43rd highest) Persons in professional occupations: 47.3% (6th highest) Persons aged 65 and over: 13.8% (60th highest) Couple families with dependent children: 36.4% (99th highest) Dwellings being purchased: 18.0% (139th highest) Dwellings are flat, unit or apartment: 36.2% (8th highest) Sitting member: Hon Peter Costello (Liberal), elected 1990, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007 Born: 14 August 1957, Melbourne. Career: Barrister, tutor Monash University. Member, Opposition Shadow Ministry 1990-96. Shadow Minister for Corporate Law Reform and Consumer Affairs 1990-92, Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Minister for Justice 1992-93, Shadow Minister for Finance 1993-94, Shadow Treasurer 1994-96. Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party 1994-2007. Deputy Leader of the Opposition 1994-96. Treasurer 1996-2007. 1996 two-party majority: Liberal 10.7 1998 two-party majority: Liberal 09.6 2001 two-party majority: Liberal 08.4 Effect of 2004 redistribution: no change 2004 two-party majority: Liberal 08.8 2007 two-party majority: Liberal 07.0 
2004 enrolment: 87,650 2007 enrolment: 89,333 (+01.9%) Higgins was created in 1949, based in Melbourne's wealthy inner south-eastern suburbs, initially Malvern and Caulfield, and expanding over successive redistributions to take in Toorak and South Yarra to the west and Ashburton to the east, while losing Caulfield in 1990. It has one of the highest median income levels, one of the highest rates of home ownership, and one of the highest proportions of people in professional occupations of any electorate. Not surprisingly, it has always been a safe seat for the Liberal Party, although somewhat less so on its current boundaries than in the past: there are pockets of Labor strength in Alamein, Carnegie, Hughesdale and Prahran. Higgins is a traditional Liberal leadership seat: it was won in 1949 for the Liberals by Harold Holt, who had been member for Fawkner since 1935. He was Prime Minister from 1966 until his death in 1967. The 1968 by-election was won by his successor as PM, John Gorton, who was transferring from the Senate. Higgins is thus the only seat to have been held by two Prime Ministers. Gorton retired in 1975 and was succeeded by Roger Shipton, a backbencher who was dumped in 1990 in favour of the ambitious young lawyer Peter Costello, who has held the seat since. Costello became Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in 1994 and Treasurer under John Howard in 1996. By 2001 Costello was ready to succeed Howard, but Howard refused to go, winning the 2004 election and decising to stay and fight again in 2007. Costello had neither the nerve not the numbers to challenge him. By the time Howard lost the 2007 election, Costello's time had apparently passed, and he announced that he would not seek the leadership and would pursue a career in business. A year later, however, he was still in parliament, leading to continuing speculation that he was hoping for a recall. In 2007 the Liberals polled 75% of the two-party vote at Malvern Lower, and also topped 70% at Kooyong Park, Toorak and Toorak West. Labor polled 67% at Oakleigh (where there was an 11% swing) and 65% at Windsor. | |  Two-party vote by booth, 2007
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