Division of Hughes

Hughes Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Hughes in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election.
Created	1955
MP	Craig Kelly
Party	United Australia
Namesake	Billy Hughes
Electors	106,274 (2019)
Area	369 km2 (142.5 sq mi)
Demographic	Outer Metropolitan

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

History[]

Billy Hughes, the division's namesake

The division was created in 1955 and is named for Billy Hughes, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. Originally a marginal Labor seat, it was taken by the Liberals in their 1966 landslide.^[1] However, the Liberal margin was redistributed away in 1968,^{[citation needed]} and for the next two decades it was a fairly safe Labor seat. Demographic change made it increasingly less safe for Labor in the 1980s and 1990s,^{[citation needed]} and it was one of many marginal seats taken by the Liberals in the 1996 landslide.^[1] The Liberals have held it ever since – although they came close to losing it in the 2007 landslide – and it is now generally considered to be a safe Liberal seat.^[1]

The current Member for Hughes, since the 2010 federal election, is Craig Kelly. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia until he resigned from the party to sit as an Independent in February 2021,^[2] before joining Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party in August 2021.^[3]

Boundaries[]

The division is located in the southern and southwestern suburbs of Sydney, including Alfords Point, Bangor, Barden Ridge, Bonnet Bay, Bundeena, Como, Engadine, Garie Beach, Grays Point, Hammondville, Heathcote, Holsworthy, Illawong, Jannali, Kareela, Kirrawee, Loftus, Lucas Heights, Maianbar, Menai, Oyster Bay, Pleasure Point, Sandy Point, Sutherland, Voyager Point, Waterfall, Wattle Grove, Woronora, Woronora Heights, and Yarrawarrah; as well as parts of Audley, Gymea, Moorebank, Royal National Park, and Sylvania. The Liverpool Military Area—comprising Holsworthy Barracks and Steele Barracks—is also located in the electorate.

Members[]

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Les Johnson (1924–2015)	Labor	10 December 1955 – 26 November 1966	Lost seat
		Don Dobie (1927–1996)	Liberal	26 November 1966 – 25 October 1969	Transferred to the Division of Cook
		Les Johnson (1924–2015)	Labor	25 October 1969 – 19 December 1983	Served as minister under Whitlam. Resigned in order to become Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand
		Robert Tickner (1951–)	Labor	18 February 1984 – 2 March 1996	Served as minister under Hawke and Keating. Lost seat
		Danna Vale (1944–)	Liberal	2 March 1996 – 19 July 2010	Served as minister under Howard. Retired
		Craig Kelly (1963–)	Liberal	21 August 2010 – 23 February 2021	Incumbent
			Independent	23 February 2021 – 23 August 2021
			United Australia	23 August 2021 – present

Election results[]

References[]

External links[]

• Division of Hughes - Australian Electoral Commission

Coordinates: 33°59′31″S 150°58′30″E / 33.992°S 150.975°E / -33.992; 150.975