Division of Dobell

Dobell Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Dobell in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election.
Created	1984
MP	Emma McBride
Party	Labor
Namesake	Sir William Dobell
Electors	117,359 (2019)
Area	787 km2 (303.9 sq mi)
Demographic	Provincial

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

History[]

Sir William Dobell, the division's namesake

The Division of Dobell was created in 1984 and is named in honour of Sir William Dobell, the painter. Dobell was originally a fairly safe seat for the Australian Labor Party, but grew increasingly marginal from 1996 onward. The seat was ultimately won by the Liberal Party in the 2001 election. The Liberals consolidated their hold on the seat at the 2004 election; however Labor regained the seat at the 2007 election when Craig Thomson defeated Ken Ticehurst.

Its most prominent members have been Michael Lee, a former minister in the Keating government and later Councillor for the City of Sydney, who held the seat for Labor between 1984 and 2001; and Craig Thomson.

Thomson, a former union official, was elected to represent Labor in 2007 and gained notoriety when, as part of the Health Services Union expenses affair, it was alleged there was improper use of Thomson's union-issued corporate credit card. In April 2012, Thomson sought suspension from the Labor Party and sat on the crossbench as an independent member of the House of Representatives.^[1] Thomson stood as an independent candidate at the subsequent 2013 Federal Election and received 4% of the vote. After leaving parliament, Thomson was found guilty of fraud.^[2]

A redistribution prior to the 2016 federal election saw Dobell change from a marginal Liberal seat in to a notional marginal Labor seat with a notional Labor two-party margin of 0.2 percent.^[3] Incumbent Liberal member Karen McNamara re-contested the seat,^[4] but was defeated by Labor candidate Emma McBride, the daughter of former state MP Grant McBride, on a swing of four percent.

Boundaries[]

The division is located in the Central Coast region and includes the towns of The Entrance, Tuggerah and Wyong. The electorate stretches from Blue Haven in the north to Wyoming in the south, from The Entrance in the East through the Jilliby Valley. The division includes the suburbs Bateau Bay, Berkeley Vale, Blue Haven, The Entrance, Gorokan, Jilliby, Lisarow, Ourimbah, Toukley, Tuggerah, Tumbi Umbi, Wamberal, Wyoming, and Wyong.

Members[]

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Michael Lee (1957–)	Labor	1 December 1984 – 10 November 2001	Served as minister under Keating. Lost seat
		Ken Ticehurst (1945–)	Liberal	10 November 2001 – 24 November 2007	Lost seat
		Craig Thomson (1964–)	Labor	24 November 2007 – 29 April 2012	Lost seat
			Independent	29 April 2012 – 7 September 2013
		Karen McNamara (1964–)	Liberal	7 September 2013 – 2 July 2016	Lost seat
		Emma McBride (1975–)	Labor	2 July 2016 – present	Incumbent

Election results[]

References[]

External links[]

• Division of Dobell - Australian Electoral Commission

Coordinates: 33°14′53″S 151°21′58″E / 33.248°S 151.366°E / -33.248; 151.366