Summary
The Division of Groom is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland.
| Groom Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
Map Interactive map of boundaries | |
| Created | 1984 |
| MP | Garth Hamilton |
| Party | Liberal National |
| Namesake | Sir Littleton Groom |
| Electors | 110,932 (2022) |
| Area | 5,586 km2 (2,156.8 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Provincial |
Groom is an agricultural electorate located on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. It includes the regional city of Toowoomba and rural communities to the west and south.[1]
The current MP is Garth Hamilton, a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland.
Geography edit
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been 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]
History edit
The division was created in 1984 as essentially a reconfigured version of the old Division of Darling Downs, which had existed since Federation. It is named in honour of Sir Littleton Groom, who represented Darling Downs with only one short break from 1901 to 1936 and served as Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.
It is located in the rural areas west of Brisbane and is centred on the city of Toowoomba, Australia's second largest inland city. Other centres include Oakey and Pittsworth.
The seat has never elected a Labor member in either of its incarnations as Darling Downs or Groom. While Toowoomba itself (particularly, the northern suburbs) occasionally votes for Labor, it is nowhere near enough to overcome the conservative bent of the rural areas.
Groom's electors are socially conservative. In 2017, it was one of only three electorates in Queensland to vote against the Marriage Survey.
2020 Groom by-election edit
Members edit
| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tom McVeigh (1930–) |
Nationals | 1 December 1984 – 29 February 1988 |
Previously held the Division of Darling Downs. Resigned to retire from politics. Son is John McVeigh | |
|
Bill Taylor (1938–) |
Liberal | 9 April 1988 – 31 August 1998 |
Retired | |
|
Ian Macfarlane (1955–) |
Liberal | 3 October 1998 – 19 July 2010 |
Served as minister under Howard and Abbott. Retired | |
| Liberal National | 19 July 2010 – 9 May 2016 | ||||
|
John McVeigh (1965–) |
Liberal National | 2 July 2016 – 18 September 2020 |
Previously held the Legislative Assembly of Queensland seat of Toowoomba South. Served as minister under Turnbull. Resigned to retire from politics. Father is Tom McVeigh | |
|
|
Garth Hamilton (1979–) |
Liberal National | 28 November 2020 – present |
Incumbent |
Election results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal National | Garth Hamilton | 41,971 | 43.72 | −9.62 | |
| Labor | Gen Allpass | 17,985 | 18.73 | +0.07 | |
| One Nation | Grant Abraham | 9,181 | 9.56 | −3.53 | |
| Independent | Suzie Holt | 7,932 | 8.26 | +8.26 | |
| Independent | Kirstie Smolenski | 6,858 | 7.14 | +7.14 | |
| Greens | Mickey Berry | 5,616 | 5.85 | −2.11 | |
| United Australia | Melissa Bannister | 4,922 | 5.13 | +1.17 | |
| Australian Federation | Ryan Otto | 1,539 | 1.60 | +1.60 | |
| Total formal votes | 96,004 | 95.28 | −1.52 | ||
| Informal votes | 4,758 | 4.72 | +1.52 | ||
| Turnout | 100,762 | 90.88 | −2.17 | ||
| Notional two-party-preferred count | |||||
| Liberal National | Garth Hamilton | 61,610 | 64.17 | −6.31 | |
| Labor | Gen Allpass | 34,394 | 35.83 | +6.31 | |
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal National | Garth Hamilton | 54,612 | 56.89 | −13.60 | |
| Independent | Suzie Holt | 41,392 | 43.11 | +43.11 | |
| Liberal National hold | |||||
- Liberal
- National
References edit
External links edit
- Division of Groom (Qld) — Australian Electoral Commission
27°29′02″S 151°39′11″E / 27.484°S 151.653°E