Groom is an agricultural electorate located on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. It includes the regional city of Toowoomba and rural communities to the west and south.[1]
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.[2]
It is located in the rural areas west of Brisbane and is centred on the city of Toowoomba, Australia's second largest inland city. Other centres include Oakey and Pittsworth.
The seat has never elected a Labor member in either of its incarnations as Darling Downs or Groom. Toowoomba itself (particularly, the northern suburbs) has pockets of Labor support and was represented by Labor at state level as late as 2012. However, it is nowhere near enough to overcome the conservative bent of the rural areas.
Groom's electors have historically been socially conservative. In 2017, it was one of only three electorates in Queensland to vote against the Marriage Survey.[3] However, sentiment had begun to shift in the 2022 federal election. The election showed a strong increase in votes for independent candidates, with the two-candidate preferred result indicating local independent candidate, Suzie Holt, securing 41.33% of the vote, following distribution of preferences. It was the second time that the Coalition's hold on Groom had been remotely threatened in its present incarnation; in 2007, the Liberals were held to 58.2 percent of the two-party vote despite winning enough primary votes to retain the seat outright. Before 2025, the 2007 election was the only time that the Coalition won less than 62 percent of the two-party vote in the seat's present incarnation.
↑ "Results and Publications". marriagesurvey.abs.gov.au. 15 November 2017. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2017. For breakdown of results by electorate download the Response.xls file and refer to table 2
↑ Groom, Qld, 2025 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.
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