McEwen                 |
Division of Mackellar |                 McMillan |
Hon Bronwyn Bishop (Lib) No website | Location: Sydney: Collaroy, Narrabeen, Newport, Terrey Hills Division named for: Dorothea Mackellar, poet Median weekly family income: $1,405 (11th highest) Persons born in non English speaking countries: 11.1% (68th highest) Persons in professional occupations: 32.6% (29th highest) Persons aged 65 and over: 14.3% (48th highest) Couple families with dependent children: 39.3% (58th highest) Dwellings being purchased: 24.4% (85th highest) Sitting member: Hon Bronwyn Bishop (Liberal), elected 1994by, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007 Born: 19 October 1942, Sydney. Career: Solicitor and company director. President NSW Liberal Party 1985-87. Senator for NSW 1987-94. Member, Opposition Shadow Ministry 1989-90, 1994-96 and 2007-08. Shadow Minister for Public Administration, Federal Affairs and Local Government 1989-90, Shadow Minister for Urban and Regional Strategy 1994, Shadow Minister for Health 1994-95, Shadow Minister for Privatisation and Commonwealth/State Relations 1995-96. Minister for Defence Industry, Science and Personnel 1996-98, Minister for Aged Care 1998-2001. Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs 2007-08. 1996 two-party majority: Liberal 16.5 1998 two-party majority: Liberal 15.6 Effect of 2001 redistribution: 01.5 shift to Liberal 2001 two-party majority: Liberal 16.9 2004 two-party majority: Liberal 15.8 Effect of 2006 redistribution: 00.3 shift to Labor 2007 notional two-party majority: Liberal 15.5 2007 two-party majority: Liberal 12.4 2004 enrolment: 87,191 2007 enrolment: 92,411 (+06.0%) (new boundaries) Mackellar was created in 1949, based on the northern beaches suburbs of Sydney, and its boundaries have not changed much since. This is an affluent area and the seat has always been safe for the Liberal Party. It is among the top 10% of electorates in terms of median family incomes, although its proportion of people in professional occupations is not as high as those in seats closer to the city centre. Although the seat is safely Liberal, it is seeing the same slow drift to Labor as other upper-income urban seats, as affluent voters become more concerned about social issues. Bronwyn Bishop won the seat for the Liberals at a 1994 by-election. Bishop was a Senator 1987-94, and for a time was regarded as a possible Liberal leadership contender. She was a minister in the Howard government but was dropped after the 2001 election. She briefly returned to the Liberal frontbench in 2007 under Brendan Nelson but was dropped by Malcolm Turnbull. Bishop will be 68 at the next election, so this is probably her last Parliament. In 2007 Labor gained a modest swing of 3.1%. The Liberals won every booth except Dee Why and Scotland Island, polling 72% of the two-party vote at RSL Retirement Village and 70% at Belrose North. Labor polled 68% at the (small) booth at Scotland Island. |   |
Two-party vote by booth, 2007
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