Division of Calare

Calare
Australian House of Representatives Division

Division of Calare (green) within New South Wales
Created 1906
MP John Cobb
Party The Nationals
Namesake Lachlan River (Aboriginal name)
Electors 102,044 (2013)[1]
Area 30,526 km2 (11,786.2 sq mi)
Demographic Rural

The Division of Calare is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was first contested at the 1906 election; created to replace the abolished Division of Canobolas, and is named for the local Aboriginal name for the Lachlan River, which runs through the western part of the division. The name should be pronounced Kal-ah-ree, but the pronunciation Kul-air is established.

The division stretches from Forbes and Parkes in the west, to Orange, Bathurst, Lithgow and Oberon in the east.

The current Member for Calare, since the 2007 federal election, is John Cobb, a member of the The Nationals.

History

The division originally encompassed Forbes, Orange and Parkes. Subsequent boundary changes moved it eastwards to encompass Bathurst, Lithgow and Oberon. On these boundaries it was notionally a marginal seat between the Australian Labor Party (which held it 1983-96) and the National Party, but it was held comfortably by an independent, Peter Andren, from 1996 to 2007. Andren was not a candidate for the 2007 election: he intended to run for a Senate seat but was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and died during the election campaign.[2]

A redistribution in 2006 moved the boundaries west to take in Cowra, Grenfell and the vast north-west of New South Wales from Brewarrina to Menindee, making Calare New South Wales's largest electorate. Lithgow, Bathurst and Oberon, which tend to favour Labor, were transferred to the neighbouring seat of Macquarie. At the 2007 federal election, Calare was won by the Nationals' representative John Cobb on a margin of 12.1 percent.[3] Cobb had previously represented the Division of Parkes, parts of which were redistributed into Calare in 2006.

The 2009 redistribution of NSW moved the boundaries back east, to again include Lithgow, Bathurst and Oberon. Most of the northwestern area of the division was transferred to the neighbouring division of Parkes.[4] The changes took effect at the 2010 election.

Members

MemberPartyTerm
  Thomas Brown Labour 1906–1913
  Henry Pigott Commonwealth Liberal 1913–1917
  Nationalist 1917–1919
  Thomas Lavelle Labor 1919–1922
  Sir Neville Howse Nationalist 1922–1929
  George Gibbons Labor 1929–1931
  Harold Thorby Country 1931–1940
  John Breen Labor 1940–1946
  John Howse Liberal 1946–1960
  John England Country 1960–1975
  Sandy Mackenzie National Country 1975–1982
  National 1982–1983
  David Simmons Labor 1983–1996
  Peter Andren Independent 1996–2007
  John Cobb National 2007–present

Election results

Australian federal election, 2013: Calare[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National John Cobb 52,650 57.65 +5.24
Labor Jess Jennings 23,185 25.39 −3.66
Palmer United Brian Cain 4,356 4.77 +4.77
Greens David Mallard 4,054 4.44 −1.56
Independent Macgregor Ross 2,388 2.61 +0.57
Christian Democrats Ian Lyons 1,628 1.78 −0.41
Katter's Australian Billie Kirkland 1,293 1.42 +1.42
Australia First Peter Schultze 1,010 1.11 +1.11
Democratic Labour Anthony Craig 759 0.83 +0.83
Total formal votes 91,323 93.89 −1.18
Informal votes 5,942 6.11 +1.18
Turnout 97,265 95.32 −0.02
Two-party-preferred result
National John Cobb 60,248 65.97 +5.23
Labor Jess Jennings 31,075 34.03 −5.23
National hold Swing +5.23

References

External links

Coordinates: 33°18′22″S 148°55′19″E / 33.306°S 148.922°E / -33.306; 148.922

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