Division of Cook

Cook Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Cook in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election.
Created	1969; 52 years ago (1969)
MP	Scott Morrison
Party	Liberal
Namesake	James Cook
Electors	107,052 (2019)
Area	94 km2 (36.3 sq mi)
Demographic	Inner Metropolitan

The Division of Cook is an Australian electoral division in the State of New South Wales.

History[]

James Cook, the division's namesake

Cook was created in 1969, mostly out of the Liberal-leaning areas of neighbouring Hughes. It was thus a natural choice for that seat's one-term Liberal member, Don Dobie, to transfer after his majority in Hughes was redistributed away. The division was named in honour of James Cook, who mapped the east coast of Australia in 1770. In 2006, the Australian Electoral Commission's Redistribution Committee for New South Wales proposed that the division be jointly named for Joseph Cook, who was Australia's Prime Minister in 1913-14.^[1] However as of 2021 no such action has been taken, and therefore Joseph Cook remains the only (eligible) Prime Minister who does not have a federal electorate named after him.

For most of the first quarter-century of its existence, Cook was a Liberal seat; it has been in Liberal hands for all but two terms. The Liberal margin of victory in Cook greatly increased with the party's national landslide victory at the 1996 general election, and since then Cook has been a "blue ribbon" safe seat for the Liberal Party.

The most prominent members were Dobie, who held the seat from its 1969 creation until his retirement in 1996 (with a brief break from 1972 to 1975); Bruce Baird, a former Deputy leader of the Liberal Party of New South Wales before his move into Federal politics; and the current member, Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister of Australia since 2018.

In 2007, following news of Baird's impending retirement, the seat attracted significant media attention, thanks to the controversial preselection of Liberal candidate . Allegations surfaced to the effect that Towke had engaged in branch-stacking and had embellished his curriculum vitae;^[2] although these allegations were subsequently proven false,^[3] the damage was done. In August 2007, Towke was disendorsed as the Liberal candidate and was replaced with Scott Morrison, a former director of the New South Wales Liberal Party.^[4] Morrison won the seat at the election and is the current sitting member.

Boundaries[]

The division is located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, including Beverley Park, Burraneer, Caringbah, Caringbah South, Carss Park, Cronulla, Dolans Bay, Dolls Point, Greenhills Beach, Gymea Bay, Kangaroo Point, Kogarah Bay, Kurnell, Kyle Bay, Lilli Pilli, Miranda, Monterey, Port Hacking, Ramsgate, Ramsgate Beach, Sandringham, Sans Souci, Sylvania Waters, Taren Point, Woolooware, and Yowie Bay; as well as parts of Blakehurst, Connells Point, Gymea, Kogarah, and Sylvania.

Members[]

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Don Dobie (1927–1996)	Liberal	25 October 1969 – 2 December 1972	Lost seat
		Ray Thorburn (1930–1986)	Labor	2 December 1972 – 13 December 1975	Lost seat
		Don Dobie (1927–1996)	Liberal	13 December 1975 – 29 January 1996	Retired
		Stephen Mutch (1956–)	Liberal	2 March 1996 – 31 August 1998	Previously a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Lost preselection and retired
		Bruce Baird (1942–)	Liberal	3 October 1998 – 17 October 2007	Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Northcott. Retired
		Scott Morrison (1968–)	Liberal	24 November 2007 – present	Served as minister under Abbott and Turnbull. Incumbent. Currently the Prime Minister of Australia

Election results[]

References[]

External links[]

• Division of Cook - Australian Electoral Commission

Coordinates: 34°01′52″S 151°06′00″E / 34.031°S 151.100°E / -34.031; 151.100