Division of Corio

Corio Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Corio in Victoria, as of the 2019 federal election.
Created	1901
MP	Richard Marles
Party	Labor
Namesake	Corio Bay
Electors	110,322 (2019)
Area	773 km2 (298.5 sq mi)
Demographic	Provincial

The Division of Corio is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. Named for Corio Bay, it has always been based on the city of Geelong, although in the past it stretched as far east as the outer western suburbs of Melbourne.

The current Member for Corio, since the 2007 federal election, is Richard Marles, the current Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party.

History[]

Corio Bay, the division's namesake

For most of the first seven decades after Federation, it was a marginal seat that frequently changed hands between the Australian Labor Party and the conservative parties. However, Labor has held it without interruption since a 1967 by-election, and since the 1980s it has been one of Labor's safest non-metropolitan seats. Presently, the Liberals need a 10 percent swing to win it, up from 7.7 percent at the time the writs were dropped for the 2016 election.^[1]

Its most prominent members have been Richard Casey, a leading Cabinet member in the 1930s and later Governor-General; John Dedman, a Chifley government minister; Hubert Opperman, a former cycling champion and a minister in the Menzies government; and Gordon Scholes, who was Speaker during the Whitlam government and a minister in the Hawke government.

Boundaries[]

The division comprises an area of 773 square kilometres (298 sq mi) from the western shores of Port Phillip Bay, stretching to the north of Geelong and inland. Besides Geelong, it includes Avalon, Bell Park, Bell Post Hill, Belmont, Breakwater, Corio, Drumcondra, Fyansford, East Geelong, North Geelong, South Geelong, Geelong West, Hamlyn Heights, Herne Hill, Highton, Lara, Lovely Banks, Manifold Heights, Moolap, Newcomb, Norlane, North Shore, Portarlington, St Albans Park, Rippleside and Whittington; and parts of Anakie, Batesford, Clifton Springs, Fyansford, Leopold, Newtown, and Thomson.^[2]

Members[]

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Richard Crouch (1868–1949)	Protectionist	29 March 1901 – 26 May 1909	Lost seat. Later elected to the Division of Corangamite in 1929
			Commonwealth Liberal	26 May 1909 – 13 April 1910
		Alfred Ozanne (1877–1961)	Labor	13 April 1910 – 31 May 1913	Lost seat
		William Kendell (1851–1922)	Commonwealth Liberal	31 May 1913 – 5 September 1914	Lost seat. Later elected to the Victorian Legislative Council in 1916
		Alfred Ozanne (1877–1961)	Labor	5 September 1914 – 5 May 1917	Lost seat
		John Lister (1875–1935)	Nationalist	5 May 1917 – 12 October 1929	Lost seat
		Arthur Lewis (1882–1975)	Labor	12 October 1929 – 19 December 1931	Lost seat
		Richard Casey (1890–1976)	United Australia	19 December 1931 – 30 January 1940	Served as minister under Lyons, Page and Menzies. Resigned in order to become the Australian Ambassador to the United States. Later elected to the Division of La Trobe in 1949
		John Dedman (1896–1973)	Labor	2 March 1940 – 10 December 1949	Served as minister under Curtin, Forde and Chifley. Lost seat
		Hubert Opperman (1904–1996)	Liberal	10 December 1949 – 10 June 1967	Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Menzies. Served as minister under Menzies and Holt. Resigned to become the High Commissioner to Malta
		Gordon Scholes (1931–2018)	Labor	22 July 1967 – 8 February 1993	Served as Speaker during the Whitlam and Fraser Governments. Served as minister under Hawke. Retired
		Gavan O'Connor (1947–)	Labor	13 March 1993 – 18 October 2007	Lost preselection and then lost seat
			Independent	18 October 2007 – 24 November 2007
		Richard Marles (1967–)	Labor	24 November 2007 – present	Served as minister under Rudd. Currently the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Incumbent

Election results[]

References[]

External links[]

• Division of Corio - Australian Electoral Commission

Coordinates: 37°59′49″S 144°22′52″E / 37.997°S 144.381°E / -37.997; 144.381