Division of Cook

This article is about the current federal electorate. For the previous electorate, see Division of Cook (1906–55). For the state electorate, see Electoral district of Cook.
Cook
Australian House of Representatives Division

Division of Cook (green) in New South Wales
Created 1969
MP Scott Morrison
Party Liberal
Namesake James Cook
Electors 104,184 (2013)[1]
Area 100 km2 (38.6 sq mi)
Demographic Inner Metropolitan

The Division of Cook is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1969 and is named for James Cook, who mapped the east coast of Australia in 1770.

The division is located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, including Caringbah, Cronulla, Miranda and Sylvania.

The current Member for Cook, since the 2007 federal election, is Scott Morrison, a member of the Liberal Party of Australia.

History

Originally created as a marginal seat, successive redistributions have pushed it further into the wealthier portions of Sutherland Shire. Since the mid-1990s, it has been a "blue ribbon" safe seat for the Liberal Party.

The most prominent members were Don Dobie, who held the seat from its 1969 creation until his retirement in 1996 (with a brief break from 1972 to 1975) and Bruce Baird, a former Deputy leader of the Liberal Party of New South Wales before his move into Federal politics with his election in Cook. In 2007, following news of Baird's impending retirement, the seat attracted significant media attention due to the controversial preselection of Liberal candidate Michael Towke. Allegations surfaced that Towke had engaged in branch-stacking and had embellished his resume;[2] although these allegations were subsequently proven false.[3] In August 2007, Towke was disendorsed as the Liberal candidate, and was replaced with Scott Morrison, a former director of the New South Wales Liberal Party.[4] Morrison won the seat at the election and is the current sitting member.

Members

MemberPartyTerm
  Don Dobie Liberal 1969–1972
  Ray Thorburn Labor 1972–1975
  Don Dobie Liberal 1975–1996
  Stephen Mutch Liberal 1996–1998
  Bruce Baird Liberal 1998–2007
  Scott Morrison Liberal 2007–present

Election results

Australian federal election, 2013: Cook[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Scott Morrison 55,707 60.35 +2.47
Labor Peter Scaysbrook 22,850 24.76 −4.05
Greens Mithra Cox 6,058 6.56 −1.17
Palmer United Matt Palise 3,765 4.08 +4.08
Christian Democrats Beth Smith 1,981 2.15 +0.23
Independent Graeme Strang 1,321 1.43 −0.32
Australia First Jim Saleam 617 0.67 +0.67
Total formal votes 92,299 94.08 −0.11
Informal votes 5,813 5.92 +0.11
Turnout 98,112 94.17 −0.25
Two-party-preferred result
Liberal Scott Morrison 61,244 66.35 +3.69
Labor Peter Scaysbrook 31,055 33.65 −3.69
Liberal hold Swing +3.69

References

  1. 1 2 "Cook, NSW". Election 2013. Australian Electoral Commission. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "Liberal Party disendorses Michael Towke" (transcript). PM (ABC Radio) (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 3 August 2007.
  3. ↑ Sheehan, Paul (26 October 2009). "Nasty saga you nearly missed". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  4. ↑ http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/2007seats/cook.shtml

External links

Coordinates: 34°01′52″S 151°06′00″E / 34.031°S 151.100°E / -34.031; 151.100

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