Clarence is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales.
Clarence New South Wales—Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||
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State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||||
Dates current | 1859–1920 1927–present | ||||||||||||||
MP | Richie Williamson | ||||||||||||||
Party | The Nationals | ||||||||||||||
Namesake | Clarence River | ||||||||||||||
Electors | 56,859 (2019) | ||||||||||||||
Area | 13,494.54 km2 (5,210.3 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Demographic | Rural | ||||||||||||||
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It includes all of the Clarence Valley Council including Grafton, Maclean, Yamba, Illuka, Junction Hill, Ulmarra, Coutts Crossing and Glenreagh, as well as all of the Richmond Valley Council including Casino, Coraki, Woodburn, Evans Head and Tatham.[1]
Clarence was created in 1859, replacing the New South Wales part of Clarence and Darling Downs. With the introduction of proportional representation in 1920, it was absorbed into Byron along with Lismore. It was recreated in 1927.
It has historically been a safe National seat, having been held by that party for all but seven years in its current incarnation. However, Labor has won it at high-tide elections.
First incarnation (1859–1920) | |||
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Member | Party | Term | |
Clark Irving [2] | None | 1859–1864 | |
John Laycock [3] | None | 1864–1866 | |
John Robertson [4] | None | 1866–1869 | |
Thomas Bawden [5] | None | 1869–1880 | |
Charles Fawcett [6] | None | 1880–1880 | |
John Purves [7] | None | 1880–1887 | |
John McFarlane [8] | Protectionist | 1887–1901 | |
Progressive | 1901–1907 | ||
Liberal Reform | 1907–1915 | ||
William Zuill [9] | Liberal Reform | 1915–1917 | |
Nationalist | 1917–1920 | ||
Second incarnation (1927–present) | |||
Member | Party | Term | |
Alfred Pollack [10] | Country | 1927–1931 | |
Alfred Henry [11] | Country | 1931–1938 | |
Cecil Wingfield [12] | Country | 1938–1955 | |
Bill Weiley [13] | Country | 1955–1971 | |
Matt Singleton [14] | Country | 1971–1981 | |
Don Day [15] | Labor | 1981–1984 | |
Ian Causley [16] | National | 1984–1996 | |
Harry Woods [17] | Labor | 1996–2003 | |
Steve Cansdell [18] | National | 2003–2011 | |
Chris Gulaptis [19] | National | 2011–2023 | |
Richie Williamson | National | 2023–present |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National | Richie Williamson | 24,247 | 49.6 | +3.0 | |
Labor | Leon Ankersmit | 10,700 | 21.9 | +0.9 | |
Greens | Greg Clancy | 3,739 | 7.6 | −0.3 | |
Legalise Cannabis | Mark Rayner | 3,708 | 7.6 | +7.6 | |
Independent | Debrah Novak | 3,433 | 7.0 | +7.0 | |
Independent | Nicki Levi | 1,320 | 2.7 | +2.7 | |
Sustainable Australia | George Keller | 1,061 | 2.2 | +0.6 | |
Independent Indigenous | Brett Duroux | 725 | 1.5 | +1.5 | |
Total formal votes | 48,933 | 96.2 | −0.5 | ||
Informal votes | 1,911 | 3.8 | +0.5 | ||
Turnout | 50,844 | 88.8 | −0.7 | ||
Two-party-preferred result | |||||
National | Richie Williamson | 26,475 | 64.3 | −0.2 | |
Labor | Leon Ankersmit | 14,731 | 35.7 | +0.2 | |
National hold | Swing | −0.2 |