Division of Watson

Last updated

Watson
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of WATSON 2016.png
Division of Watson in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election
Created1992
MP Tony Burke
Party Labor
Namesake Chris Watson
Electors 108,806 (2022)
Area47 km2 (18.1 sq mi)
DemographicInner metropolitan

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

Contents

Watson is an urban electorate and extends from the Hume Highway, Canterbury Road and the M5 as far west as Stacey Street and Joseph Street in Sydney. [1] It has a large immigrant population, with significant Chinese, Bangladeshi, and Lebanese communities. [2]

History

Chris Watson, the division's namesake ChrisWatsonSepia crop.jpg
Chris Watson, the division's namesake

The division was created at the redistribution of 31 January 1992, to replace the abolished Division of St George and is named after the Right Honourable Chris Watson, the first Labor Prime Minister of Australia. It was first contested at the 1993 federal election. There was previously another Division of Watson (1934-69), originally Chris Watson's old seat of South Sydney and located in the south-eastern suburbs of Sydney, however that Division is not connected to this one except in name. In the 2009 redistribution, the boundaries of Watson moved significantly northwest, losing the south-eastern suburbs in the St George area such as Hurstville, retaining the south-western suburbs such as Belmore, and adding a significant part of the Inner West.

While St George was a marginal seat, Watson has been a safe Labor seat for nearly all of its existence. The only time that Labor's hold was seriously threatened was in 2013, when Labor was held to 56 percent of the two-party vote.

It has previously been held by Leo McLeay, a former Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives. The current Member for Watson, since the 2004 federal election, is Tony Burke, a member of the Australian Labor Party.

In 2017, the division had the second-highest percentage of "No" responses in the 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, with 69.64% of the electorate's respondents to the survey responding "No". [3] The Survey had strong opposition from Muslim voters in the electorate. [4] [5]

Demographics

Watson is a diverse and socially conservative electorate [4] which is historically working-class. [5] Despite being a stronghold for the centre-left Labor Party, many voters in Watson maintain socially-conservative values from their immigrant cultures. [5] According to the 2016 census, only 44.4% of electors were born in Australia. [2]

At 23.4%, Watson has one of the highest Islamic populations of any electorate in Australia, [2] more than 20 times the national average. [5]

Boundaries

Federal electoral division boundaries in Australia are 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. [6]

The division is mainly located in the south-western suburbs of Sydney, with smaller parts located in the Inner West, and includes the suburbs of Ashbury, Belfield, Burwood Heights, Chullora, Croydon Park, Enfield, Greenacre, Lakemba, Mount Lewis, Punchbowl, Roselands, Strathfield South, Wiley Park; as well as parts of Ashfield, Bankstown, Belmore, Beverly Hills, Burwood, Campsie, Canterbury, Croydon, Croydon Park, Hurlstone Park, Kingsgrove, Lidcombe, Narwee, Padstow, Riverwood, Rookwood, and Summer Hill.

Members

ImageMemberPartyTermNotes
  Labor Placeholder.png Leo McLeay
(1945–)		 Labor 13 March 1993 –
31 August 2004 		Previously held the Division of Grayndler. Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Keating. Retired
  Tony Burke.jpg Tony Burke
(1969–)		 9 October 2004 –
present		Previously a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Served as minister under Rudd and Gillard. Incumbent. Currently a minister under Albanese

Election results

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2022 Australian federal election in New South Wales § Watson.[ edit ]
2022 Australian federal election: Watson [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labor Tony Burke 44,46451.87+0.18
Liberal Sazeda Akter22,75926.55−2.85
Greens Bradley Schott8,2009.57+2.47
United Australia John Koukoulis6,1267.15+2.94
One Nation Alan Jorgensen4,1784.87+4.87
Total formal votes85,72790.27+2.88
Informal votes9,2459.73−2.88
Turnout 94,97287.36−2.09
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Tony Burke 55,81065.10+1.58
Liberal Sazeda Akter29,91734.90−1.58
Labor hold Swing +1.58
Primary vote results in Watson (Parties that did not get 5% of the vote are omitted)
  Labor
  Liberal
  Greens
  Christian Democrats
  Australian Democrats
  Unity
  Palmer United/United Australia Party
Two-candidate-preferred results in Watson

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inner West</span> Region in New South Wales, Australia

The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson, stretching south to the shores of the Cooks River. The western boundary of the Inner West is approximately the A3 arterial road, which divides the Inner West from the Greater Western Sydney region. The Inner West is much larger than the Inner West Council local government area. The Inner West roughly corresponds with the Parish of Petersham and Parish of Concord, two cadastral divisions used for land titles.

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

The Division of Swan is an Australian electoral division located in Western Australia.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Division of Bruce is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. The division is located in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It covers an area of approximately 115 square kilometres (44 sq mi) including the suburbs of Dandenong North, Doveton, Endeavour Hills, Eumemmerring, Hallam, Lysterfield South, Narre Warren, and Narre Warren North; and parts of Berwick, Dandenong, Harkaway, Mulgrave, Narre Warren South, Noble Park, and Noble Park North.

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

The Division of Calwell is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria.

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

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

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

The Division of Chisholm is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The division was created in 1949 and is named after Caroline Chisholm, a social worker and promoter of women's immigration.

The Division of Groom is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croydon, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Croydon is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) west of the Sydney central business district. Croydon is split between the two local government areas of Municipality of Burwood and the Inner West Council.

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

The Division of Wentworth is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division encompasses the suburbs to the east of Sydney CBD, mostly Woollahra and Waverley council in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.

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

The Division of Parramatta 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 the locality of Parramatta. The name Parramatta has been sourced to an Aboriginal word for the area. The Darug people had lived in the area for many generations, and regarded the area as a food bowl, rich in food from the river and forests. They called the area Baramada or Burramatta ("Parramatta") which means "the place where the eels lie down".

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

The Division of Menzies is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria.

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

The Division of Kingsford Smith is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division is located south and south-east of Sydney CBD, comprising mostly City of Randwick and the suburbs of Bayside Council that were governed by the former City of Botany Bay.

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

The Division of Lowe was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was located in the inner western suburbs of Sydney, on the south shore of the Parramatta River. It included the suburbs of Drummoyne, Five Dock, Croydon, Croydon Park, Burwood, Enfield, Homebush, Strathfield, Concord, Rhodes, Canada Bay, Cabarita, Abbotsford and Mortlake.

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

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

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

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croydon Park, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Croydon Park is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Croydon Park is 10 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is divided between the local government areas of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, Municipality of Burwood and Inner West Council. Croydon is a separate suburb, to the north.

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

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

References

  1. ↑ "Watson - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "2016 Watson, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  3. ↑ "Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey 2017 Response Final". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 15 November 2017. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Same-sex marriage survey: religious belief matched no vote most closely". the Guardian. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Bagshaw, Eryk (16 November 2017). "Same-sex marriage result: Why multicultural communities registered huge 'no' votes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  7. ↑ Watson, NSW, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.

33°54′29″S151°04′37″E / 33.908°S 151.077°E / -33.908; 151.077

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.