Psephos - Adam Carr's Election Archive

Adam Carr's Election Archive

Australian federal election, 2019
Division of Bennelong, New South Wales

< Bendigo previous seat | next seat Berowra >
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Northern Sydney: Eastwood, Epping, Ermington, Gladesville, Ryde
State seats: All of Ryde, parts of Epping, Lane Cove and Parramatta
Local government areas: All of Ryde, parts of Hornsby and Parramatta
Enrolment at close of rolls: 108,872
1999 republic referendum: Yes 54.6
2018 same-sex marriage survey: No 50.2

Sitting member: John Alexander OAM (Liberal): Elected 2010, 2013, 2016. Resigned 2017. Elected 2017 by-election

2007 Labor majority over Liberal: 1.4%
2010 Liberal majority over Labor: 3.1%
2013 Liberal majority over Labor: 7.8%
2016 Liberal majority over Labor: 9.7%
2017 by-election Liberal majority over Labor: 4.9%
2019 notional Liberal majority over Labor: 9.7%

Status: Fairly safe Liberal

  • 2016 results
  • 2017 by-election results
  • Statistics and history

  • Candidates in ballot-paper order:

    1. Dr Brian Owler AM
    Australian Labor Party
    2. Andrew Marks
    United Australia Party
    3. John Alexander OAM
    Liberal Party
    4. Qiu Yue (Viki) Zhang
    Australian Greens
    5. Julie Worsley
    Christian Democratic Party



    Candidate websites:

    John Alexander OAM
    Dr Brian Owler AM
    Viki Zhang

    Division of Bennelong

    Bennelong was created in 1949, occupying a block of affluent middle-class suburbia on Sydney's North Shore. It has the unusual combination of high median family incomes and a high proportion of people born in non English speaking countries: it now has the highest proportion of such people of any Coalition-held seat. Many of these migrants are people from Asian countries, particularly China, who are in professional occupations. The 2016 census showed 21% of Bennelong residents claiming Chinese ancestry, the highest of any seat. (Not all of these will be citizens.)

    For its first 50 years Bennelong was a usually reliable seat for the Liberal Party, having only two members in that time: Sir John Cramer from 1949 to 1974 and John Howard from 1974 to 2007. Howard was Treasurer in the Fraser Government, Leader of the Liberal Party from 1985 to 1989 and again from 1995 to 2007, and Prime Minister from 1996 to 2007.

    From the 1970s, however, successive redistributions shifted Bennelong westwards, losing prime Liberal territory in Lane Cove and Hunters Hill and gaining marginal or Labor-voting areas further west. Demographic change also made suburbs like Ryde and Gladesville less reliably Liberal.

    The defeat of Howard's government in 2007, plus the changes in Bennelong, caused Howard's shock defeat in his own seat at the 2007 election: he was the first Prime Mimister since 1929 to lose his seat. Labor's Maxine McKew held the seat for only one term, before it returned the Liberals in 2010.

    John Alexander, Liberal MP for Bennelong since 2010, was a professional tennis player and sports commentator before entering politics. Although he was something of a Liberal hero for regaining Bennelong, he has not been promoted, and since he is now 67 it sems unlikely he will be. In 2017 Alexander resigned when it became clear that he had not successfully renounced his possible claim to British citizenship. He was comfortably re-elected at the December 2017 by-election, defeating former NSW (now Senator) Kristina Keneally.

    The Labor candidate is Professor Brian Owler, a neurosurgeon and former president of the Australian Medical Association. The Greens candidate, Edwina Clifton, a barrister and Ryde City councillor, withdrew in February after resigning from the Greens. Her replacement is Viki Zhang, a medical researcher.

    Demographics:

    Median weekly household income: $1,817 (Australia $1,438)
    People over 65: 14.3% (Australia 15.8%)
    Australian born: 48.3% (Australia 66.7%)
    Ancestry: Chinese 21.0%
    Non-English-speaking households: 51.8% (Australia 22.2%)
    Catholics 23.3% (Australia 22.6%)
    No religion 30.9% (Australia 29.6%)
    University graduates: 39.8% (Australia 22.0%)
    Professional and managerial employment: 48.1% (Australia 35.2%)
    Employed in manufacturing and construction: 15.3% (Australia 22.9%)
    Paying a mortgage: 30.0% (Australia 34.5%)
    Renting: 36.1% (Australia 30.9%)
    Traditional families: 39.3% (Australia 32.8%)

    Members:

    Hon Sir John Cramer (Lib) 1949-74
    Hon John Howard (Lib) 1974-2007
    Hon Maxine McKew (ALP) 2007-10
    John Alexander (Lib) 2010-17, 2017b-

    Boundaries following 2016 redistribution:




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