Division of Whitlam
| Whitlam Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of electorate boundaries | |
| Created | 2016 |
| MP | Carol Berry |
| Party | Labor |
| Namesake | Gough Whitlam |
| Electors | 130,155 (2025) |
| Area | 2,966 km2 (1,145.2 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Provincial |
The Division of Whitlam is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.
Whitlam is a predominantly middle and working-class electorate that covers 2,966 square kilometres in the southern Illawarra and the Southern Highlands.[1]
The current MP is Carol Berry, a member of the Australian Labor Party. It was previously held by Stephen Jones, also a member of the Australian Labor Party. Jones was born in Wollongong and was a trade union official before first being elected to Parliament in 2010.[1]
Geography
[edit]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.[2]
Whitlam includes Shellharbour City, Wingecarribee Shire and part of Wollongong City, including Dapto.[3]
Whitlam has a strong working-class character due to the presence of industries such as steelmaking, coal mining and stevedoring in the Illawarra.
History
[edit]
The division, previously named Throsby, was renamed in honour of Gough Whitlam, the Prime Minister of Australia from 1972–75, in a February 2016 electoral distribution.[4] It came into effect from 2 July 2016, the date of the 2016 Australian federal election.
ABC election analyst Antony Green estimated that boundary changes to Throsby would reduce the Australian Labor Party's notional two-party-preferred margin from 7.8 to 6.9 percentage points.[5] Despite this, the last member for Throsby, Stephen Jones, easily retained the seat with a healthy swing of over six points.
At the 2024 redistribution, Whitlam gained the balance of Wingecarribee Shire from Hume and lost some territory north and east of Lake Illawarra to Cunningham.[6]
Members
[edit]| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Stephen Jones (1965–) |
Labor | 2 July 2016 – 28 March 2025 |
Previously held the Division of Throsby. Served as minister under Albanese. Retired | |
|
Carol Berry | Labor | 3 May 2025 – present | Incumbent | |
Election results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Carol Berry | 42,230 | 38.63 | −3.76 | |
| Liberal | Nathaniel Smith | 30,908 | 28.27 | −1.56 | |
| Greens | Jamie Dixon | 13,558 | 12.40 | +1.96 | |
| One Nation | Sharon Cousins | 8,379 | 7.66 | +0.78 | |
| Independent | Ben Britton | 5,246 | 4.80 | +4.80 | |
| Trumpet of Patriots | Angelo Cuda | 3,101 | 2.84 | +2.84 | |
| Independent | Paddy Moylan | 2,211 | 2.02 | +2.02 | |
| Independent | Glenn Butterfield | 1,905 | 1.74 | +1.74 | |
| Libertarian | Raymond Khoury | 1,188 | 1.09 | −2.42 | |
| Citizens | Cheryl Hinton | 590 | 0.54 | +0.54 | |
| Total formal votes | 109,316 | 90.18 | −5.06 | ||
| Informal votes | 11,909 | 9.82 | +5.06 | ||
| Turnout | 121,225 | 93.14 | +4.08 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Carol Berry | 61,486 | 56.25 | −2.06 | |
| Liberal | Nathaniel Smith | 47,830 | 43.75 | +2.06 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | −2.06 | |||
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Whitlam - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
- ^ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ "Map of the Commonwealth Electoral Division of Whitlam" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. October 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
- ^ "Federal seat of Throsby to become Whitlam". ABC News. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ Green, Antony. "2015–16 New South Wales Federal Redistribution". ABC News. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Map of the Proposed Commonwealth Electoral Divisions of Cook, Cunningham, Hughes, Hume, Macarthur, Werriwa and Whitlam" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
- ^ Whitlam, NSW, 2025 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.