Electoral division of Sanderson

Summary

Sanderson is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1974, and derives its name from the name initially given to the area in 1879, before its division into suburbs. Sanderson is an urban electorate, covering 21 km2 and taking in the Darwin suburbs of Anula, Marrara, Wulagi and part of Malak. There were 5,449 people enrolled in the electorate as of August 2020.

Sanderson
Northern TerritoryLegislative Assembly
Location of Sanderson in the Darwin/Palmerston area
TerritoryNorthern Territory
Created1974
MPKate Worden
PartyLabor Party
NamesakeFrederick James Sanderson
Electors5,449 (2020)
Area21 km2 (8.1 sq mi)
DemographicUrban
Electorates around Sanderson:
Casuarina
Johnston
Wanguri Wanguri
Fannie Bay Sanderson Karama
Fong Lim Fong Lim Fong Lim

Sanderson is a bellwether seat that has only tended to change hands at times of major political change in the Territory. It was initially won by the Country Liberal Party's Liz Andrew in 1974, when the CLP won all but two seats in the Assembly (both of which went to independents). However, Andrew was defeated by the Labor Party's June D'Rozario when the ALP swept into the Assembly in 1977, taking several seats. D'Rozario held the seat until 1983, she was swept by the CLP's Daryl Manzie amid the massive CLP landslide of that year. Manzie was a popular incumbent, and held the seat relatively easily until his retirement in 2001.

Sanderson then reverted to the ALP in 2001, when Len Kiely was swept into office amid Labor's sweep of north Darwin. The seat was targeted by the CLP at the 2005 election as one they hoped to win back, but Kiely had little difficulty winning a second term amidst a massive territory-wide swing to the ALP. He was defeated in 2008 by Peter Styles, who became only the second opposition MP in the seat's history. Styles retained the seat in 2012 amid the CLP victory of that year, despite a small swing to the ALP. In the 2016 election, Styles was heavily defeated by Labor's Kate Worden amid the CLP's collapse in Darwin. Worden picked up a swing of over 13 percent, turning Sanderson into a safe Labor seat at one stroke. Worden consolidated her hold on the seat in 2020, and now sits on a majority of 19.3 percent, the second-safest in the Territory.

Members for Sanderson edit

Member Party Term
  Liz Andrew Country Liberal 1974–1977
  June D'Rozario Labor 1977–1983
  Daryl Manzie Country Liberal 1983–2001
  Len Kiely Labor 2001–2008
  Peter Styles Country Liberal 2008–2016
  Kate Worden Labor 2016–present

Election results edit

2020 Northern Territory general election: Sanderson[1][2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Kate Worden 2,632 59.9 +7.6
Country Liberal Derek Mayger 968 22.0 −13.4
Territory Alliance Amelia Nuku 795 18.1 +18.1
Total formal votes 4,395 97.6 N/A
Informal votes 107 2.4 N/A
Turnout 4,502 82.6 N/A
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Kate Worden 3,044 69.3 +8.7
Country Liberal Derek Mayger 1,351 30.7 −8.7
Labor hold Swing +8.7

References edit

  1. ^ "Electorate summary: Sanderson". NTEC. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Sanderson". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 September 2020.

External links edit

  • Division profile from the Northern Territory Electoral Commission

12°23′54″S 130°52′48″E / 12.39833°S 130.88000°E / -12.39833; 130.88000