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| Adam Carr's Election Archive
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Australian federal election, 2019
Division of Cook, New South Wales
Southern Sydney: Caringbah, Cronulla, Miranda, Ramsgate, Sylvania
State seats: All of
Cronulla, parts of
Kogarah,
Miranda,
Oatley and
Rockdale
Local government areas: Parts of Kogarah, Rockdale and Sutherland
Enrolment at close of rolls: 107,052
1999 republic referendum: No 52.9
2018 same-sex marriage survey: Yes 55.0
Sitting member: Hon Scott Morrison (Liberal):
Elected 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016
2007 Liberal majority over Labor: 6.6%
2010 Liberal majority over Labor: 12.7%
2013 Liberal majority over Labor: 16.4%
2016 Liberal majority over Labor: 15.4%
Status: Very safe Liberal
2016 results
Statistics and history
Candidates in ballot-paper order:
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1. Hon Scott Morrison
Liberal Party |
2. Peter Kelly
Fraser Anning's Conservative
National Party |
3. Simon O'Brien
Australian Labor Party |
4. Gaye Cameron
Pauline Hanson's One Nation |
5. Jonathan Doig
Australian Greens |
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6. Roger Bolling
Christian Democratic Party |
7. John McSweyn
United Australia Party |
Candidate websites:
Gaye Cameron
Jonathan Doig
Hon Scott Morrison
Simon O'Brien
Division of Cook
Cook was created in 1969, based in the southern suburbs of Sydney between Botany Bay and the Georges River (there
was an earlier seat of Cook in inner Sydney, which was abolished in 1955). Centred on Cronulla and Miranda, it is a
solidly middle-class area with a high proportion of people in professional occupations. In the 1970s these were
fairly new suburbs with a high level of families with children and people paying mortgages. Today the population is
mainly older home-owners, with a low proportion of people born in non English speaking countries. Cook was politically
marginal when it was created, and Labor won it in 1972 and 1974, but it grew steadily safer for the Liberals in the
1980s and '90s.
Bruce Baird, a former NSW Liberal state minister, won Cook in 1998. Baird expected to be a minister when he came to
Canberra, but was disappointed, and joined Petro Georgiou in becoming a back-bench rebel, especially on immigration
issues. He retired in 2007.
Scott Morrison, Liberal MP for Cook since 2007, was born into a middle-class family in Sydney's eastern suburbs: his
father was a police officer and Mayor of Waverley. He was educated at state schools and the University of NSW, where he
gained a degree in geography. He worked as policy and research manager for the Property Council of Australia,
deputy chief executive of the Australian Tourism Task Force, general manager of the Tourism Council, director of the
New Zealand Office of Tourism and Sport, state director of the NSW Liberal Party and finally managing director of
Tourism Australia - a position from which he was sacked by Liberal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey.
At the 2007 election, Morrison sought Liberal endorsement for Cook, but was defeated by Michael Towke. Soon after,
Towke was disendorsed
following various allegations against him, and Morrison
was installed as Liberal candidate by the NSW Liberal State Executive. (The allegations against Towke were later
disproved.)
Despite this controversy, Morrison, with his glittering CV, was expected to gain rapid promotion. He was on the
opposition front bench from 2008, and became
Immigration Minister in the Abbott Government in 2013. In this position he was in charge of "Operation Sovereign
Borders", which effectively stopped the influx of unauthorised boat arrivals from Indonesia which had plagued the
Labor government. This made him one of the successes of the otherwise chaotic Abbott government. He was initially a strong
supporter of Abbott, but abandoned him in 2015, and when Malcolm Turnbull deposed Abbott in September 2015 he became
Treasurer in the Turnbull Government. He was also a success in this position.
In August 2018, when crisis engulfed the Turnbull government, Morrison at first strongly endorsed Turnbull against the
challenge from the right's candidate, Peter Dutton. But when it became clear that Turnbull could not survive, he
declared his own candidacy, and easily defeated Dutton to become Liberal leader and Prime Minister. Although the
party's moderates supported Morrison against Dutton, he is a strong social conservative. With the Coalition
trailling badly in the polls, he faces a massive task to secure a term in his own right at the 2019 election.
The 2016 redistribution extended Cook north of the Georges River for the first time, taking in Blakehurst,
Ramsgate and Sans Souci. This somewhat reduced the Liberal majority, but not enough to pose any threat to Morrison's
hold on the seat.
The Labor candidate is Simon O'Brien, a bar manager and musician. The Greens candidate is Jonathan Doig, a software engineer.
The One Nation candidate is Gaye Cameron, a public servant.
Demographics:
Median weekly household income: $1,805 (Australia $1,438)
People over 65: 18.8% (Australia 15.8%)
Australian born: 72.5% (Australia 66.7%)
Ancestry: Greek 5.9%
Non-English-speaking households: 24.4% (Australia 22.2%)
Catholics 28.4% (Australia 22.6%)
No religion 21.7% (Australia 29.6%)
University graduates: 23.3% (Australia 22.0%)
Professional and managerial employment: 39.5% (Australia 35.2%)
Employed in manufacturing and construction: 24.1% (Australia 22.9%)
Paying a mortgage: 33.1% (Australia 34.5%)
Renting: 25.7% (Australia 30.9%)
Traditional families: 35.9% (Australia 32.8%)
Members:
Hon Don Dobie (Lib) 1969-72
Ray Thorburn (ALP) 1972-75
Hon Don Dobie (Lib) 1975-96
Stephen Mutch (Lib) 1996-98
Hon Bruce Baird (Lib) 1998-2007
Hon Scott Morrison (Lib) 2007-
Boundaries following 2016 redistribution:
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