Division of Riverina

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

Riverina
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Riverina in New South Wales, as of the 2019 federal election.
Dates current1901–1984, 1993–present
MPMichael McCormack
PartyNationals
NamesakeRiverina
Electors114,109 (2019)
Area48,988 km2 (18,914.4 sq mi)
DemographicRural

History

The region of Riverina, the division's namesake

The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election, although it was abolished between 1984 and 1993, so has not been contested at every federal election. The division was named after the Riverina region in which it is located, though its modern borders do not correspond exactly with the Riverina region. The division covers a primarily agricultural, rural area with many small towns.

In the 1984 redistribution, the division was abolished and replaced by Riverina-Darling, but in the 1993 redistribution it was re-created.

Since its re-creation in 1993, it has been a safe Nationals seat. Its first incarnation tilted toward the Nationals' predecessor, the Country Party, for much of its history, but was occasionally taken by Labor during high-tide elections. It was fairly marginal for most of the 1970s and early 1980s, when it included the strongly pro-Labor mining towns of Broken Hill and Cobar which have now been transferred to Farrer and Parkes.

The division is located in South-West rural New South Wales, generally following the Murrumbidgee River valley. It includes the city of Wagga Wagga as well as the towns of Cowra, Forbes, Junee, Cootamundra, Temora, West Wyalong, Young, Tumut and Gundagai. The Sturt Highway runs along the length of the division, and it contains a large section of the Newell Highway.

The Division of Riverina also contains the major town of Parkes which has the same name as the bordering Division of Parkes.

The seat has previously been held by Al Grassby, Minister for Immigration in the Whitlam Government. The current Member for Riverina, since the 2010 federal election, is Michael McCormack, Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party of Australia.

Members

First incarnation (19011984)
Image Member Party Term Notes
  John Chanter
(1845–1931)
Protectionist 29 March 1901
16 December 1903
Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Deniliquin. Lost seat
  Robert Blackwood
(1861–1940)
Free Trade 16 December 1903
13 April 1904
1903 election results declared void. Lost seat in subsequent by-election
  John Chanter
(1845–1931)
Protectionist 18 May 1904
26 May 1909
Lost seat
  Labor 26 May 1909 –
31 May 1913
  Franc Falkiner
(1867–1929)
Commonwealth Liberal 31 May 1913
5 September 1914
Lost seat. Later elected to the Division of Riverina in 1917
  John Chanter
(1845–1931)
Labor 5 September 1914
14 November 1916
Lost seat
  National Labor 14 November 1916
17 February 1917
  Nationalist 17 February 1917 –
16 December 1922
  William Killen
(1860–1939)
Country 16 December 1922
27 November 1931
Retired
  Horace Nock
(1879–1958)
Country 19 December 1931
21 September 1940
Lost seat
  Joe Langtry
(1880–1951)
Labor 21 September 1940
10 December 1949
Lost seat
  Hugh Roberton
(1900–1987)
Country 10 December 1949
21 January 1965
Served as minister under Menzies. Resigned in order to become Australian Ambassador to Ireland
  Bill Armstrong
(1909–1982)
Country 27 February 1965
25 October 1969
Lost seat
  Al Grassby
(1926–2005)
Labor 25 October 1969
18 May 1974
Served as minister under Whitlam. Lost seat
  John Sullivan
(1929–)
Country 18 May 1974
2 May 1975
Lost seat. Later elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Sturt in 1981
  National Country 2 May 1975 –
10 December 1977
  John FitzPatrick
(1915–1997)
Labor 10 December 1977
19 September 1980
Previously held the Division of Darling. Retired
  Noel Hicks
(1940–)
National Country 18 October 1980
16 October 1982
Transferred to the Division of Riverina-Darling after Riverina was abolished in 1984
  Nationals 16 October 1982 –
1 December 1984
Second incarnation (1993–present)
Image Member Party Term Notes
  Noel Hicks
(1940–)
Nationals 13 March 1993
31 August 1998
Previously held the Division of Riverina-Darling. Retired
  Kay Hull
(1954–)
Nationals 3 October 1998
19 July 2010
Retired
  Michael McCormack
(1964–)
Nationals 21 August 2010
present
Served as minister and Deputy Prime Minister under Turnbull. Incumbent. Currently a minister and Deputy Prime Minister under Morrison

Election results

2019 Australian federal election: Riverina[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Michael McCormack 60,493 59.93 +2.73
Labor Mark Jeffreson 23,380 23.16 −2.36
United Australia Richard Foley 10,814 10.71 +10.71
Greens Michael Bayles 6,254 6.20 +1.71
Total formal votes 100,941 94.84 −0.55
Informal votes 5,489 5.16 +0.55
Turnout 106,430 93.39 −0.02
Two-party-preferred result
National Michael McCormack 70,136 69.48 +3.04
Labor Mark Jeffreson 30,805 30.52 −3.04
National hold Swing+3.04

References

  1. Riverina, NSW, Tally Room 2019, Australian Electoral Commission.

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