Psephos - Adam Carr's Election Archive

Adam Carr's Election Archive

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

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North-western Sydney: Baulkham Hills, Beaumont Hills, Castle Hill, Kellyville, Northmead
State seats: Parts of Baulkham Hills, Castle Hill, Parramatta, Seven Hills
Local government areas: Parts of Parramatta and The Hills
Enrolment at close of rolls: 110,402
1999 republic referendum: No 53.1
2018 same-sex marriage survey: No 50.9

Sitting member: Hon Alex Hawke (Liberal): Elected 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016

2007 Liberal majority over Labor: 11.6%
2010 Liberal majority over Labor: 17.2%
2013 Liberal majority over Labor: 22.1%
2016 Liberal majority over Labor: 17.8%

Status: Very safe Liberal

  • 2016 results
  • Statistics and history

  • Candidates in ballot-paper order:

    1. Immanuel Selveraj
    Australian Labor Party
    2. Hon Alex Hawke
    Liberal Party
    3. Roy Hoppenbrouwer
    United Australia Party
    4. Craig Hall
    Christian Democratic Party
    5. Lawrence Murphy
    Australian Greens



    Candidate websites:

    Hon Alex Hawke
    Lawrence Murphy
    Immanuel Selveraj

    Division of Mitchell

    Mitchell was created in 1949, based in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney and the towns of the Hawkesbury district. Until 1977 it included some working-class suburbs around Blacktown and Toongabbie and was a marginal seat. Since then it has consisted of a block of suburbs running north from Baulkham Hills: among the most affluent suburbs in Australia.

    Mitchell has the highest proportion of families with dependent children of any seat in Australia, and also has a high proportion of dwellings being purchased. Mitchell is thus the ultimate high income mortgage belt seat. This area is also in the heart of Sydney's "Bible belt" of suburbs with strong evangelical Christian communities. These factors have made Mitchell one of the safest Liberal seats in Australia.

    Alan Cadman won Mitchell for the Liberals in 1974 and held it for over 30 years. His long career on the backbench was interrupted by four years as a shadow minister in the 1980s and two years as a Parliamentary Secretary. He narrowly survived a pre-selection challenge in 2004 and retired in 2007.

    Alex Hawke, Liberal MP for Mitchell since 2007, had spent six years as an adviser to state and federal MPs before his election. Partly because of his reputation as a factional warrior, he had to wait some time to be promoted. He was Assistant Minister for Home Affairs from December 2017, and in August 2018 became Special Minister of State.

    The Labor candidate is Immanuel Selveraj, a small business owner. The Greens candidate is Lawrence Murphy, a systems accountant.

    Demographics:

    Median weekly household income: $2,268 (Australia $1,438)
    People over 65: 13.6% (Australia 15.8%)
    Australian born: 61.2% (Australia 66.7%)
    Ancestry: Chinese 9.6%
    Non-English-speaking households: 38.1% (Australia 22.2%)
    Catholics 29.0% (Australia 22.6%)
    No religion 21.2% (Australia 29.6%)
    University graduates: 33.4% (Australia 22.0%)
    Professional and managerial employment: 46.2% (Australia 35.2%)
    Employed in manufacturing and construction: 21.2% (Australia 22.9%)
    Paying a mortgage: 45.7% (Australia 34.5%)
    Renting: 18.5% (Australia 30.9%)
    Traditional families: 53.4% (Australia 32.8%)

    Members:

    Roy Wheeler (Lib) 1949-61
    John Armitage (ALP) 1961-63
    Leslie Irwin (Lib) 1963-72
    Alfred Ashley-Brown (ALP) 1972-74
    Hon Alan Cadman (Lib) 1974-2007
    Hon Alex Hawke (Lib) 2007-

    Boundaries following 2018 redistribution:




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