Division of Cowper

Last updated

Cowper
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of COWPER 2016.png
Division of Cowper
Interactive map of electorate boundaries
Created1901
MP Pat Conaghan
Party Nationals
Namesake Sir Charles Cowper
Electors 129,887 (2022)
Area7,296 km2 (2,817.0 sq mi)
DemographicRural and provincial
Electorates around Cowper:
New England Page Pacific Ocean
New England Cowper Pacific Ocean
New England Lyne Pacific Ocean

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

Contents

Geography

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned. [1]

History

Sir Charles Cowper, the division's namesake Charlescowper.jpg
Sir Charles Cowper, the division's namesake

The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 65 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named after Sir Charles Cowper, an early Premier of New South Wales. [2]

Except for one brief break, the seat has been held by the National Party (previously known as the Country Party) and its predecessors since 1919. [2] Its most prominent member has been Sir Earle Page, former leader of the Country Party and interim Prime Minister of Australia in 1939. He represented Cowper from 1919 to 1961, longer than any other MP who represented one seat for his entire career. It has usually been a fairly safe National Party seat, and became more so when its more urbanised area (including Page's hometown of Grafton) was shifted to the newly created Division of Page in 1984.

The division is located on the north coast of New South Wales, and on its current boundaries takes in the towns of Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Macksville and Nambucca Heads.

In February 2016, New South Wales federal electoral districts were redistributed. The northern parts of Cowper, from Sapphire Beach to Red Rock were shifted to the division of Page. Since the 2019 election, the member for Cowper has been Pat Conaghan, representing the National Party of Australia.

Members

ImageMemberPartyTermNotes
  Francis Clarke.jpg Francis Clarke
(1857–1939)
Protectionist 30 March 1901
16 December 1903
Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Hastings and Macleay. Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Deakin. Lost seat
  Henry William Lee.jpg Henry Lee
(1856–1927)
Free Trade 16 December 1903
1906
Lost seat
  Anti-Socialist 1906 –
12 December 1906
  John Thomson (Australian politician).jpg John Thomson
(1862–1934)
Protectionist 12 December 1906
26 May 1909
Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Manning. Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Hughes. Lost seat
  Liberal 26 May 1909 –
17 February 1917
  Nationalist 17 February 1917 –
13 December 1919
  Earle Page.jpg (Sir) Earle Page
(1880–1961)
Farmers and Settlers' Association 13 December 1919
22 January 1920
Served as minister under Bruce, Lyons, Menzies and Fadden. Served as Prime Minister in 1939. Lost seat
  Country 22 January 1920 –
9 December 1961
  FrankMcGuren1962.jpg Frank McGuren
(1909–1990)
Labor 9 December 1961
30 November 1963
Lost seat
  Ian Robinson 1974 (cropped).jpg Ian Robinson
(1925–2017)
Country 30 November 1963
2 May 1975
Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Casino. Transferred to the Division of Page
  National Country 2 May 1975 –
16 October 1982
  Nationals 16 October 1982 –
1 December 1984
  Nationals Placeholder.png Garry Nehl
(1934–2023)
1 December 1984
8 October 2001
Retired
  Luke Hartsuyker 2017 (cropped).png Luke Hartsuyker
(1959–)
10 November 2001
11 April 2019
Served as minister under Turnbull. Retired
  North Coast Regional Gardens Glasshouse Opening 2022 (cropped).jpg Pat Conaghan
(1971–)
18 May 2019
present
Incumbent

Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Cowper [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National Pat Conaghan 43,90939.47−7.60
Independent Caz Heise29,20626.26+26.26
Labor Keith McMullen15,56613.99+0.20
One Nation Faye Aspiotis9,0478.13+8.13
Greens Timothy Nott6,5185.86−0.08
Liberal Democrats Simon Chaseling4,3163.88+3.88
United Australia Joshua Fairhall2,6742.40−0.62
Total formal votes111,23695.07+2.85
Informal votes5,7704.93−2.85
Turnout 117,00690.22−1.81
Notional two-party-preferred count
National Pat Conaghan 66,15359.47−2.41
Labor Keith McMullen45,08340.53+2.41
Two-candidate-preferred result
National Pat Conaghan 58,20452.32−4.47
Independent Caz Heise53,03247.68+47.68
National hold 
Alluvial diagram for preference flows in the seat of Cowper in the 2022 federal election. Y indicates at what stage the winning candidate had over 50% of the votes and was declared the winner. 2022 Australian federal election Cowper alluvial diagram.svg
Alluvial diagram for preference flows in the seat of Cowper in the 2022 federal election. Light green check.svgY indicates at what stage the winning candidate had over 50% of the votes and was declared the winner.

References

  1. Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 Profile of the Electoral Division of Cowper, Australian Electoral Commission, retrieved 9 May 2012
  3. Cowper, NSW, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.

Notes


    30°23′02″S152°52′12″E / 30.384°S 152.870°E / -30.384; 152.870