Division of Wills

Last updated

Wills
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Wills 2022.png
Division of Wills in Victoria, as of the 2022 federal election
Created1949
MP Peter Khalil
Party Labor
Namesake William Wills
Electors 108,500 (2022)
Area46 km2 (17.8 sq mi)
DemographicInner metropolitan

The Division of Wills is an Australian electoral division of Victoria. It is currently represented by Peter Khalil of the Australian Labor Party.

Contents

The electorate encompasses many of the suburbs in the City of Merri-bek in Melbourne's north, including Brunswick, Coburg, Pascoe Vale, Fawkner, Glenroy and Essendon Airport.

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

William Wills, the division's namesake Portrait of William J Wills by Thomas Adams Hill.jpg
William Wills, the division's namesake

The division was named after William John Wills of Burke and Wills fame. It was created in the 1949 redistribution.

Wills has been in Labor hands for its entire existence except between the 1992 by-election and 1996, when it was held by independent Phil Cleary. Its highest-profile member was Bob Hawke, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 until 1991. The 1992 by-election is remarkable for a number of reasons: It was caused by Bob Hawke's retirement from parliament; it had a record twenty-two candidates standing; it was won by an independent; the results were thrown out as the winner, Phil Cleary, was on unpaid leave from the state education system (the Australian Constitution forbids people employed by the Crown from standing for election). No replacement by-election was held as the court decision which threw out the results was made shortly before a general election was due.

While Wills remains a traditional Labor stronghold, demographic changes and the rise of The Greens has seen Wills, along with the neighbouring seat of Cooper, become Labor-Green contests in recent years. In 2016, Labor's margin versus Greens candidate and City of Merri-bek Mayor Samantha Ratnam dropped below 5 percent after a swing of more than 10 percent to Ratnam, despite the traditional 2PP margin (versus The Liberals) of over 20 percent making it one of the safest Labor seats in the country when considered against the Coalition. [2] Labor's margin over the Greens increased to over 8 percent at the 2019 election, and remained almost unchanged at the 2022 Election.

Demographics

Wills has undergone inner-city gentrification, particularly in Brunswick, which has led to a surge in support for the Greens in the seat. However, the Labor vote increases the further residents live from the Green heartland of Brunswick. [3]

Wills has relatively large immigrant communities, with populations of second-generation Greek and Italian immigrants. According to the 2016 census, 47.8% of electors had both parents born outside of Australia. [4]

As of 2016, 7.7% of electors spoke Italian, 4.7% Arabic, and 4.5% Greek at home. [4]

Members

ImageMemberPartyTermNotes
  William George Bryson.jpg Bill Bryson
(1898–1973)		 Labor 10 December 1949 –
April 1955 		Previously held the Division of Bourke. Lost seat
  Labor (Anti-Communist) April 1955 –
10 December 1955
  Gordon Bryant 1973 (cropped).jpg Gordon Bryant
(1914–1991)		 Labor 10 December 1955 –
19 September 1980 		Served as minister under Whitlam. Retired
  Hawke Bob BANNER.jpg Bob Hawke
(1929–2019)		 18 October 1980 –
20 February 1992		Served as Opposition Leader in 1983. Served as Prime Minister from 1983 to 1991. Resigned to retire from politics
  No image.svg Phil Cleary
(1952–)		 Independent 11 April 1992 –
25 November 1992
1992 by-election results declared void, for holding an office of profit under the Crown. Subsequently re-elected. Lost seat
  13 March 1993 –
2 March 1996
  Kelvin Thomson.jpg Kelvin Thomson
(1955–)		 Labor 2 March 1996 –
9 May 2016 		Retired
  Peter Khalil 2016 (cropped).jpg Peter Khalil
(1973–)		 2 July 2016 –
present		Incumbent

Election results

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2022 Australian federal election in Victoria § Wills.[ edit ]
2022 Australian federal election: Wills [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labor Peter Khalil 35,44938.87−5.39
Greens Sarah Jefford25,79328.28+2.01
Liberal Tom Wright15,77117.29−0.76
United Australia Irene Zivkovic3,3523.68+0.54
Socialist Alliance Sue Bolton3,0963.39+3.39
Victorian Socialists Emma Black2,7142.98−1.53
One Nation Jill Tindal2,5542.80+2.80
Animal Justice Leah Horsfall1,6801.84−1.92
Australian Federation Sam Sergi7890.87+0.87
Total formal votes91,19894.95−0.77
Informal votes4,8555.05+0.77
Turnout 96,05388.61−2.55
Notional two-party-preferred count
Labor Peter Khalil 69,10475.77+0.06
Liberal Tom Wright22,09424.23−0.06
Two-candidate-preferred result
Labor Peter Khalil 53,41558.57+0.10
Greens Sarah Jefford37,78341.43−0.10
Labor hold Swing +0.10

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Higgins</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Higgins is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria for the Australian House of Representatives. The division covers 41 km2 (16 sq mi) in Melbourne's inner south-eastern suburbs. The main suburbs include Armadale, Ashburton, Carnegie, Glen Iris, Kooyong, Malvern, Malvern East, Murrumbeena, Prahran and Toorak; along with parts of Camberwell, Ormond and South Yarra. Though historically a safe conservative seat, Higgins was won by the Liberal Party by a margin of just 3.9 percent over the Labor Party at the 2019 election, the closest result in the seat’s history. It then flipped to Labor in the 2022 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Brand</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Brand is an Australian electoral division in Perth, Western Australia. Brand was first created in 1984 and is named after Sir David Brand, Premier of Western Australia 1959-71. Brand governed Western Australia at a time when the state was developing its new mining and industrial base.

The Division of Griffith is an electoral division for the Australian House of Representatives. The division covers the inner southern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Melbourne</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Melbourne is an Australian electoral division in the State of Victoria, represented since the 2010 election by Adam Bandt, leader of the Australian Greens.

The Division of Franklin is an Australian electoral division in Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Greenway</span> Australian federal electoral division

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Macquarie</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Macquarie is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 65 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for Lachlan Macquarie, who was Governor of New South Wales between 1810 and 1821.

The Division of Maranoa is an Australian electoral division in Queensland.

The Division of Kooyong is an Australian Electoral Division for the Australian House of Representatives in the state of Victoria, which covers an area of approximately 59 km2 (23 sq mi) in the inner-east of Melbourne. It contains the affluent suburbs of Balwyn, Balwyn North, Camberwell, Canterbury, Deepdene, Kew, Kew East, Mont Albert, Mont Albert North, Surrey Hills and parts of Glen Iris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Hunter</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Hunter is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. The division was named after Captain John Hunter, the second Governor of New South Wales. It covers rural, regional and suburban areas centred on the Hunter Valley, including the towns of Singleton, Muswellbrook and Cessnock. It also extends into parts of Greater Newcastle, covering suburbs such as Cameron Park, Edgeworth, Toronto and Morisset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Paterson</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Paterson is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. It is located just north of Newcastle, on the coast of the Tasman Sea. The division is named after federation-era poet and author Banjo Paterson and was originally created in 1949 and abolished in 1984. It was recreated after a redistribution in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian Greens</span> Political party in Australia

The Victorian Greens, officially known as the Australian Greens Victoria, is the Victorian state member party of the Australian Greens, a green political party in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral district of Adelaide</span> South Australian state electoral district

Adelaide is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. The 22.8 km² state seat of Adelaide currently consists of the Adelaide city centre including North Adelaide and suburbs to the inner north and inner north east: Collinswood, Fitzroy, Gilberton, Medindie, Medindie Gardens, Ovingham, Thorngate, Walkerville, most of Prospect, and part of Nailsworth. The federal division of Adelaide covers the state seat of Adelaide and additional suburbs in each direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral district of Frome</span>

Frome is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It is named after Edward Charles Frome, the third surveyor-general of South Australia. The electorate stretches north-eastwards from the Gawler River and Gulf St Vincent in the south, and includes many of the agricultural areas of the Clare and Gilbert Valleys. It covers a total of 12,921 km2 (4,989 sq mi) and takes in the towns of Auburn, Clare, Mintaro, Port Broughton, Saddleworth, Snowtown and Riverton. Prior to the 2020 redistribution, its main population centre was Port Pirie, since transferred to Stuart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral district of Brunswick</span> State electoral district of Victoria, Australia

The electoral district of Brunswick is an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It covers an area of 14 square kilometres (5.4 sq mi) in inner northern Melbourne, and includes the suburbs of Brunswick, Brunswick East, Carlton North, Fitzroy North, Princes Hill and parts of Brunswick West. It lies within the Northern Metropolitan Region of the upper house, the Legislative Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Queensland state election</span>

The 2009 Queensland state election was held on 21 March 2009 to elect all 89 members of the Legislative Assembly, a unicameral parliament.

This is a list of electoral results for the Division of Wills in Australian federal elections from the division's creation in 1949 until the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Burt</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Burt is an Australian electoral division in Perth in the state of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Ratnam</span> Australian politician

Samantha Shantini Ratnam is a Sri Lankan-Australian social worker and politician. She was the leader of the Victorian Greens between 2017 and 2024, serving as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council in the Northern Metropolitan Region. Prior to this she was a councillor and mayor for the City of Moreland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Macnamara</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Macnamara is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria, which was contested for the first time at the 2019 federal election. The division is named in honour of Dame Jean Macnamara, a medical researcher and doctor who specialised in the polio virus and was involved in children's health initiatives.

References

  1. ↑ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. ↑ Wills, VIC, Virtual Tally Room 2016, Australian Electoral Commission.
  3. ↑ "Wills (Key Seat) - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 "2016 Wills, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  5. ↑ Wills, VIC, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.

37°43′44″S144°56′35″E / 37.729°S 144.943°E / -37.729; 144.943

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.