Psephos - Adam Carr's Election Archive

Adam Carr's Election Archive

Australian federal election, 2019
Division of Wide Bay, Queensland

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Queensland Coast: Cooroy, Gympie, Maryborough, Noosa, Tewantin
State seats: All of Gympie and Noosa, parts of Hervey Bay, Maryborough and Nicklin
Local government areas: All of Cherbourg, Gympie and Noosa, parts of Fraser Coast, South Burnett and Sunshine Coast
Enrolment at close of rolls: 107,516
1999 republic referendum: No 74.3
2018 same-sex marriage survey: Yes 55.6

Sitting member: Llew O'Brien (Nationals): Elected 2016

2007 Nationals majority over Labor: 8.5%
2010 Nationals majority over Labor: 15.6%
2013 Nationals majority over Labor: 13.2%
2016 Nationals majority over Labor: 8.1%
2019 notional Nationals majority over Labor: 8.3%

Status: Fairly safe Nationals

  • 2016 results
  • Statistics and history

  • Candidates in ballot-paper order:

    1. Daniel Bryar
    Australian Greens
    2. Jason Scanes
    Australian Labor Party
    3. Andrew Schebella
    United Australia Party
    4. Llew O'Brien
    The Nationals
    5. Tim Jerome
    Independent
    6. Jasmine Smith
    Fraser Anning's Conservative
    National Party
    7. Aaron Vico
    Pauline Hanson's One Nation



    Candidate websites:

    Daniel Bryar
    Llew O'Brien
    Jason Scanes

    Division of Wide Bay

    Wide Bay has existed since Federation, and has always been based on the city of Maryborough and surrounding rural areas. Until 1984 it also included Bundaberg, and the strong Labor vote in these two cities meant that Labor could expect to win the seat in good years. Indeed, Wide Bay's first member was the three-time Labor Prime Minister Andrew Fisher. But Labor has not won Wide Bay since 1972, and the transfer of Bundaberg to Hinkler in 1984 made the seat much safer for the non-Labor side. In 1998, however, the impact of One Nation produced a huge swing and almost delivered the seat to Labor in 1998.

    On its 2004 boundaries Wide Bay had the lowest median family income level of any electorate in Australia, reflecting its large population of retired people and small farmers, plus a significant Indigenous population. The 2006 redistribution drew the seat to the south, removing the retirement centre of Hervey Bay and adding the booming tourist towns of Noosa and Tewantin. This boosted the seat's income levels and reduced the proportion of over-65s, but has not altered it much politically.

    Warren Truss, who won the seat in 1990, was a senior minister in the Howard Government from 2005, and succeeded Mark Vaile as Leader after the 2007 election. He was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott-Turnbull Government, and retired in 2016.

    Llew O'Brien, Nationals MP for Wide Bay since 2016, was a police officer before entering politics.

    The Labor candidate is Jason Scanes, an Afghanistan veteran who became prominent campaigning to bring Afghans who worked for the ADF during the Afghanistan war to Australia. The Greens candidate is Daniel Bryar, a consultant.

    Demographics:

    Median weekly household income: $1,010 (Australia $1,438)
    People over 65: 23.2% (Australia 15.8%)
    Indigenous: 4.1% (Australia 2.8%)
    Australian born: 77.8% (Australia 66.7%)
    Ancestry: German 5.7%
    Non-English-speaking households: 5.1% (Australia 22.2%)
    Catholics 16.7% (Australia 22.6%)
    No religion 31.5% (Australia 29.6%)
    University graduates: 11.6% (Australia 22.0%)
    Professional and managerial employment: 28.0% (Australia 35.2%)
    Employed in manufacturing and construction: 26.2% (Australia 22.9%)
    Employed in agriculture: 6.5% (Australia 3.3%)
    Paying a mortgage: 30.3% (Australia 34.5%)
    Renting: 26.5% (Australia 30.9%)
    Traditional families: 24.3% (Australia 32.8%)

    Members:

    Rt Hon Andrew Fisher (Lab, ALP) 1901-15
    Edward Corser (Lib, Nat) 1915b-28
    Bernard Corser (CP) 1928-54
    William Brand (CP) 1954-58
    Henry Bandidt (CP) 1958-61
    Brendan Hansen (ALP) 1961-74
    Clarrie Millar (CP, NCP, NPA) 1974-90
    Hon Warren Truss (NPA) 1990-2016
    Llew O'Brien (Nat) 2016-

    Boundaries following 2018 redistribution:




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