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| Adam Carr's Election Archive
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Australian federal election, 2022
Division of Dawson, Queensland
Named for: Hon Anderson Dawson (1863-1910), Qld MP 1893-1901, Premier
1899 (first Labor Premier), Senator 1901-06
North Queensland Coast: Annandale, Ayr, Bowen, Mackay, Proserpine
State seats: All of
Whitsunday, parts of
Burdekin,
Mackay and
Mundingburra
Local government areas: Parts of
Burdekin,
Mackay,
Townsville and
Whitsunday
Borders with:
Capricornia,
Herbert and
Kennedy
Enrolment at 2019 election: 105,264
Enrolment at 2022 election: 110,356 (+04.8)
1999 republic referendum: No 69.0
2018 same-sex marriage survey: Yes 55.1
Sitting member: George Christensen (Nationals):
Elected 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019. Retiring 2022
2007 Labor majority over Nationals: 3.2%
2010 Nationals majority over Labor: 2.4%
2013 Nationals majority over Labor: 7.6%
2016 Nationals majority over Labor 3.4%
2019 Nationals majority over Labor 14.6%
Nationals two-party vote 1983-2019
Status: Safe Nationals
Best Nationals booths, two-party vote: Jarvisfield (81.5), Coningsby (76.3), Kalamia (74.8),
Home Hill (73.9), Ayr PPVC (73.5)
Best Labor booths, two-party vote: Slade Point (44.8), Mackay Goose Ponds (43.7), Mackay (43.6),
Wulguru (43.3), Mackay Town Beach (40.9)
2019 results
Statistics and history
Candidates in ballot-paper order:
 |
 |
 |
 |
1. Andrew Willcox
The Nationals |
2. Julie Hall
Pauline Hanson's One Nation |
3. Shane Hamilton
Australian Labor Party |
4. Jim Jackson
Great Australian Party |
 |
 |
 |
5. Christian Young
United Australia Party |
6. Ciaron Paterson
Katter's Australian Party |
7. Paula Creen
Australian Greens |
Candidate websites:
Paula Creen
Julie Hall
Shane Hamilton
Jim Jackson
Ciaron Paterson
Andrew Willcox
Christian Young
Division of Dawson
Dawson was created in 1949, based on the sugar and beef ports of Bowen and Mackay, and its boundaries have not changed much
since, although the seat has been cut back to the coastal strip by recent redistributions. It is a still a seat in which
agriculture plays a prominent role, and like all such seats has a low level of median family income, a low proportion of
people in professional and managerial occupations and low proportion of people in non English speaking households. It has usually
been a safe seat for the Country/National Party, although Labor has managed to win it occasionally. Labor's strength is in
the cities of Mackay and (to a lesser extent) Bowen, while the Nationals dominate the rural areas, and also the outer
suburbs of Townsville which were added to the seat in 2013. The 2018 redistribution made only slight changes to the
seat.
Labor's
Dr Rex Patterson won a famous upset in Dawson in the 1966 by-election, and held the seat largely on his personal
standing. After his defeat in 1975 the Nationals were fairly secure until the Rudd sweep of Queensland in 2007.
De-Anne Kelly, the first National Party woman elected to the House, had a brief and unhappy ministerial career in the
Howard Government, and was defeated by Labor's
James Bidgood in 2007. Bidgood did not recontest the seat in 2013 and it
returned to the Nationals.
George Christensen, Nationals MP for Dawson since 2010, was a newspaper editor and member of the Mackay City Council before his election.
He is an eccentric member with a history of extreme statements which he has had to retract. This did not seem
to have affected his local standing, and he increased his majority in 2013, although this was partly reversed in 2016. In 2019
he attracted adverse publicity when it was shown that he had taken 28 trips to Manila between 2014 to 2018, and that he was
spending much time and money in Manila bars. Despite this, he was the beneficiary of the huge swing to the Coalition in the north
Queensland seats. But in early 2021 he announced that he would not stand again.
The new Nationals candidate is Andrew Willcox, a tomato farmer and the Mayor of Whitsunday Council.
Labor's candidate is Shane Hamilton, a project manager in coal mining maintenance. The Greens candidate is Paula Creen, a building
designer.
Demographics:
Median weekly household income: $1,381 (Australia $1,438)
People over 65: 14.3% (Australia 15.8%)
Indigenous: 5.5% (Australia 2.8%)
Australian born: 77.6% (Australia 66.7%)
Non-English-speaking households: 8.2% (Australia 22.2%)
Catholics 27.0% (Australia 22.6%)
No religion 24.5% (Australia 29.6%)
University graduates: 11.9% (Australia 22.0%)
Professional and managerial employment: 26.9% (Australia 35.2%)
Employed in manufacturing and construction: 24.7% (Australia 22.9%)
Employed in agriculture: 7.1% (Australia 3.3%)
Paying a mortgage: 33.6% (Australia 34.5%)
Renting: 33.4% (Australia 30.9%)
Traditional families: 30.7% (Australia 32.8%)
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