Division of Canberra

Canberra Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory, as of the 2019 federal election.
Created	1974
MP	Alicia Payne
Party	Labor
Namesake	Canberra
Electors	95,348 (2019)
Area	312 km2 (120.5 sq mi)
Demographic	Inner Metropolitan

The Division of Canberra is an Australian electoral division in the Australian Capital Territory. It is named for the city of Canberra, Australia's national capital, and includes all of central Canberra, Kowen, Majura, as well as part of Weston Creek, Woden Valley, Molonglo Valley, Belconnen, and Jerrabomberra. It is currently held by Alicia Payne of the Labor Party.

Geography[]

As of 2018, the division of Canberra includes Canberra Central, the Woden Valley suburbs of Curtin, Chifley, Garran and Hughes, the Belconnen suburbs of Aranda, Bruce, Cook, Giralang, Hawker, Kaleen, Lawson and Weetangera, the Jerrabomberra suburbs of Beard and Oaks Estate and the districts of Majura and Kowen.^[1]

History[]

The city of Canberra, the division's namesake

The division was created in a redistribution of the former Division of Australian Capital Territory, gazetted on 19 April 1974. It originally encompassed the southern suburbs of Canberra, including the districts of Tuggeranong, Weston Creek and Woden Valley. It also generally included the land in the ACT south of the Molonglo River and Lake Burley Griffin, although at one time some suburbs in the inner south of the lake were includes in the now abolished division of Fraser. Later the division included Reid and Campbell and prior to the 2018 redistribution, it included Civic, Acton, Turner south of Haig Park and east of Sullivans Creek, Braddon south of Haig Park, Reid, Campbell and Pialligo.^[2] From 2016, the division included Norfolk Island.

In 2018, the Australian Electoral Commission announced substantial alterations to the boundaries of the electorate, due to the creation of a new seat (the Division of Bean) covering the majority of the Australian Capital Territory, centred on its south, as well as Norfolk Island. The new Division of Canberra only covers Canberra's inner suburbs, Majura and Kowen in the Territory's north-east, the Belconnen suburbs of Aranda, Bruce, Cook, Giralang, Hawker, Kaleen, Lawson and Weetangera, and parts of Woden Valley north of Hindmarsh Drive.^[3]

For most of its history it has been a fairly safe seat for the Australian Labor Party, but it has been won by the Liberal Party twice, most recently at a 1995 by-election. In recent elections, the Australian Greens vote has increased steadily, with the party being only just under 4,000 votes of surpassing the Liberal Party on primary vote to enter the two-party preferred vote. In particular, the Greens came second on primary vote in 12 booths at the 2019 federal election, and won in two booths (Dickson East and Canberra City). However, the Labor Party retains a vote almost double that of the Greens in the electorate.

Members[]

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Kep Enderby (1926–2015)	Labor	18 May 1974 – 13 December 1975	Previously held the Division of Australian Capital Territory. Served as minister under Whitlam. Lost seat
		John Haslem (1939–)	Liberal	13 December 1975 – 18 October 1980	Lost seat
		Ros Kelly (1948–)	Labor	18 October 1980 – 30 January 1995	Previously held the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly seat of Canberra. Served as minister under Hawke and Keating. Resigned in order to retire from politics
		Brendan Smyth (1959–)	Liberal	25 March 1995 – 2 March 1996	Did not contest in 1996. Failed to win the Division of Namadgi. Later elected to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly seat of Brindabella in 1998
		Bob McMullan (1947–)	Labor	2 March 1996 – 3 October 1998	Previously a member of the Senate. Transferred to the Division of Fraser
		Annette Ellis (1946–)	Labor	3 October 1998 – 19 July 2010	Previously held the Division of Namadgi. Retired
		Gai Brodtmann (1963–)	Labor	21 August 2010 – 11 April 2019	Retired
		Alicia Payne (1982–)	Labor	18 May 2019 – present	Incumbent

Election results[]

References[]

External links[]

• Division of Canberra - Australian Electoral Commission

Coordinates: 35°17′49″S 149°08′14″E / 35.2970°S 149.1372°E / -35.2970; 149.1372