Psephos - Adam Carr's Election Archive

Australian federal election, 2016
Division of North Sydney, New South Wales
Northern Sydney: Chatswood, Lane Cove, North Sydney, Willoughby
Sitting member: Trent Zimmerman (Liberal), elected 2015
Enrolment at close of rolls: 107,083
2013 Liberal majority over Labor: 15.8%
2015 by-election Liberal majority over independent 10.2%
2016 notional Liberal majority over Labor: 15.7%

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Candidates in ballot-paper order:

1. Dr Stephen Ruff
Independent
2. Sharon Martin
Christian Democrats
3. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans
Australian Greens
4. Trent Zimmerman
Liberal Party
5. Eddy Ku
Family First
6. Peter Hayes
Australian Labor Party
7. Daniel Leahy
Liberal Democratic Party
8. James Coffey
Science Party



  • 2013 results
  • 2015 by-election results
  • Statistics and history

  • North Sydney has existed since 1901, and at that time ran from Kirribilli to the outskirts of Newcastle. Successive redistributions cut it back, first to cover most of the North Shore, and more recently to a small block of densely populated inner suburbia directly across Sydney Harbour from the city. Subsequent redistributions have expanded it westwards to take in Lane Cove and Hunters Hill.

    North Sydney now consists mainly of affluent singles, couples and families living in expensive apartments - it has the third-highest proportion of apartment-dwellers of any seat. Because it has so few families with dependent children, North Sydney is the country's wealthiest electorate in terms of median family income, and has the highest proportion of people in professional occupations. It is also attracting large numbers of wealthy Asian immigrants.

    North Sydney is a safe Liberal seat, and has never elected a Labor member in its 115 years, although it did elect an independent, Ted Mack, in the 1990s. Since his retirement the Liberals have not been threatened. The seat was held by Prime Minister Billy Hughes, representing several different parties, from 1922 to 1949. Joe Hockey won it for the Liberals in 1996. He was a minister in the later years of the Howard Government, and was Treasurer in the Abbott Government. His first budget was universally criticised, and Malcolm Turnbull's first move as PM was to replace him, whereupon he immediately resigned his seat.

    Trent Zimmerman, Liberal MP for North Sydney since the 2015 by- election, was director of transport policy for the Tourism and Transport Forum of Australia, and a member of North Sydney City Council, before his election. He is the first openly-gay member of the House of Representatives. The 2016 redistribution has made only minor changes to the seat. The Labor candidate is Peter Hayes, a former RAAF officer and field interviewer with Australian Bureau of Statistics.







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