Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory)

This article is about the former division in the Australian Capital Territory. For the current division located in Victoria, see Division of Fraser (Victoria).

Fraser
Australian House of Representatives Division
Created1974
Abolished2016
PartyLabor (1974-2016)
NamesakeJim Fraser
Electors138,047 (2013)
Area513 km2 (198.1 sq mi)
DemographicInner metropolitan

The Division of Fraser was an Australian Electoral Division in the Australian Capital Territory and the Jervis Bay Territory.

History

Jim Fraser, the division's namesake

The division was created in a redistribution of the former Division of Australian Capital Territory, gazetted on 19 April 1974. It was named for Jim Fraser, who was the Member for Australian Capital Territory from 1951 to 1970.

It encompassed the northern suburbs of Canberra, including the districts of Belconnen, Gungahlin, North Canberra and also the Jervis Bay Territory. It also generally included the land in the ACT north of the Molonglo River and Lake Burley Griffin, although at one time it included some suburbs in the inner south and immediately prior to its abolition it had lost Reid and Campbell to the division of Canberra. It was always a safe seat for the Australian Labor Party.

The Australian Electoral Commission decided that, with effect from the 2016 election, the seat name would be changed to Fenner, to honour scientist Frank Fenner. The name change was due to plans by the AEC to name a seat in Victoria after former prime minister Malcolm Fraser.[1][2] The proposed name change met with opposition from a number of ACT residents. For instance, former ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said that the name change "traduces" the legacy of Fraser, a man "close to the heart of Canberrans." He also claimed that Fenner himself would have objected to the proposal.[3]

Members

Image Member Party Term Notes
  Ken Fry
(1920–2007) 		Labor 18 May 1974 –
26 October 1984 		Previously a member of the Australian Capital Territory Advisory Council. Retired
  John Langmore
(1939–) 		1 December 1984 –
6 December 1996 		Resigned to retire from politics
  Steve Dargavel
(1966–) 		1 February 1997 –
31 August 1998 		Lost preselection and retired
  Bob McMullan
(1947–) 		3 October 1998 –
19 July 2010 		Previously held the Division of Canberra. Retired
  Andrew Leigh
(1972–) 		21 August 2010 –
2 July 2016 		Transferred to the Division of Fenner after Fraser was abolished in 2016

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory)
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2013 Australian federal election in territories § Fraser.[edit]
2013 Australian federal election: Fraser[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Andrew Leigh 56,063 44.66 −1.15
Liberal Elizabeth Lee 39,693 31.62 −0.79
Greens Adam Verwey 17,665 14.07 −5.77
Bullet Train Sam Huggins 5,099 4.06 +4.06
Palmer United Freddy Alcazar 3,063 2.44 +2.44
Democrats Darren Churchill 2,444 1.95 +1.95
Rise Up Australia Jill Ross 1,508 1.20 +1.20
Total formal votes 125,535 96.27 +0.70
Informal votes 4,859 3.73 −0.70
Turnout 130,394 94.46 +0.07
Two-party-preferred result
Labor Andrew Leigh 78,614 62.62 −1.58
Liberal Elizabeth Lee 46,921 37.38 +1.58
Labor hold Swing −1.58

References

  1. ^ AEC: Fenner. Retrieved 21 April 2016
  2. ^ http://aec.gov.au/Electorates/Redistributions/2014/act/proposed-report/files/proposed-report.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  3. ^ Peake, Ross (24 November 2015). "Jon Stanhope appalled by ACT federal seat renamed from Fraser to Fenner". Canberra Times. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  4. ^ 2013 results for Fraser, AEC.

35°14′10″S 149°06′40″E / 35.236°S 149.111°E / -35.236; 149.111