Division of Bradfield

Bradfield Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Bradfield in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election.
Created	1949
MP	Paul Fletcher
Party	Liberal
Namesake	Dr John Bradfield
Electors	107,366 (2019)
Area	101 km2 (39.0 sq mi)
Demographic	Inner Metropolitan

The Division of Bradfield is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.

History[]

Dr. John Bradfield, the division's namesake

Bradfield was created in the 1949 expansion of Parliament, and was named in honour of Dr John Bradfield,^[1] the designer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Its first member was Billy Hughes, a former Prime Minister of Australia and the last serving member of the first federal Parliament. The bulk of the seat was carved out of North Sydney, which Hughes represented from 1923 to 1949. After Hughes, its best-known member was Brendan Nelson, a minister in the third and fourth Howard Governments and the federal Leader of the Opposition from 2007 to 2008. The current Member for Bradfield, since the 2009 Bradfield by-election, is Paul Fletcher, a member of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Located in the traditional Liberal stronghold of Sydney's North Shore, Bradfield has been in Liberal hands for its entire existence, and for most of that time has been reckoned as a very safe Liberal seat.^[2] Indeed, the only time that the Liberal hold on the seat has been even remotely threatened was at a 1952 by-election when the Liberals were held to 58 percent of the two-party vote–the only time that the Liberals have been held below 60 percent of the two-party vote. Even in 1952, the Liberals still won more than enough primary votes to retain the seat without the need for preferences.

For many years, Bradfield was the safest Coalition seat in metropolitan Australia. After the 2013 federal election, Bradfield became the second-safest, behind neighboring Mitchell, with a 20 percent swing required for Labor to win it.^[3] However, as of the 2016 federal election, Bradfield is once again the safest metropolitan Coalition seat, with a 21-point swing needed for Labor to win it.^[4]

Boundaries and demographics[]

The electorate is located in the upper North Shore and covers an area of approximately 101 km², covering the suburbs Castle Cove, East Killara, East Lindfield, Gordon, Killara, Lindfield, North Turramurra, North Wahroonga, Pymble, Roseville, Roseville Chase, South Turramurra, St Ives, St Ives Chase, Turramurra, Wahroonga, Waitara, Warrawee, and West Pymble; as well as parts of Asquith, Chatswood, Chatswood West, Hornsby, Mount Colah, and Normanhurst. The electorate has undergone minor boundary changes, with the latest redistribution in 2016 shifting slightly south, gaining Castle Cove and parts of Chatswood from North Sydney while losing parts of Thornleigh, Normanhurst and Hornsby.

As at the 2011 Census, households within the Division of Bradfield had the highest level of median weekly household income of any electorate in Australia.^[5]

Members[]

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Billy Hughes (1862–1952)	Liberal	10 December 1949 – 28 October 1952	Previously held the Division of North Sydney. Died in office. Currently the longest ever serving parliamentarian, as well as the oldest to have ever served
		Harry Turner (1905–1988)	Liberal	20 December 1952 – 11 April 1974	Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Gordon. Retired
		David Connolly (1939–)	Liberal	18 May 1974 – 29 January 1996	Lost preselection and retired
		Dr Brendan Nelson (1958–)	Liberal	2 March 1996 – 19 October 2009	Served as minister under Howard. Served as Opposition Leader from 2007 to 2008. Resigned in order to retire from politics
		Paul Fletcher (1965–)	Liberal	5 December 2009 – present	Served as minister under Turnbull. Incumbent. Currently a minister under Morrison

Election results[]

References[]

External links[]

• Division of Bradfield - Australian Electoral Commission

Coordinates: 33°43′55″S 151°08′46″E / 33.732°S 151.146°E / -33.732; 151.146