Division of Curtin

Curtin Australian House of Representatives Division
300px Division of Curtin (green) in Western Australia
Created	1949
MP	Julie Bishop
Party	Liberal
Namesake	John Curtin
Electors	94,323 (2013)
Area	104 km2 (40.2 sq mi)
Demographic	Inner Metropolitan

The Division of Curtin is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. The division was created in 1949 and is named for John Curtin, who was Prime Minister of Australia 1941-45. Before 1949, much of this area was part of the Division of Fremantle, which Curtin represented for most of the time from 1928 to 1945. It is located in the wealthy beachside suburbs of Perth, including Claremont, Cottesloe, Mosman Park, Nedlands, Subiaco and Swanbourne.

It was created as a notional Labor seat. However, this area is naturally Liberal territory, and the Liberals won it resoundingly as part of their massive victory in the 1949 election, turning it into a safe Liberal seat in one stroke. It has been held comfortably by the Liberals ever since, although Allan Rocher won it in 1996 after losing his Liberal endorsement and held until the 1998 election, when current member Julie Bishop reclaimed it for the Liberals.

Its most prominent member has been Paul Hasluck, who was a senior Cabinet minister in the Menzies and Holt governments and then Governor-General of Australia after leaving politics. Other prominent members include Victor Garland, a minister in the McMahon and Fraser governments, and Julie Bishop, the current Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party (the first woman to hold this role) and a minister in the Howard, Abbott, and Turnbull governments. With a two-party preferred margin as of the 2013 election of 17.4%, it is currently the safest federal seat in Western Australia.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Paul Hasluck	Liberal	1949–1969
	Victor Garland	Liberal	1969–1981
	Allan Rocher	Liberal	1981–1995
		Independent	1995–1998
	Julie Bishop	Liberal	1998–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Curtin

Australian federal election, 2013: Curtin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Julie Bishop	52,623	62.06	+0.93
	Labor	Daryl Tan	15,189	17.91	-1.36
	Greens	Judith Cullity	12,985	15.31	-2.41
	Palmer United	Glenn Baker	2,237	2.64	+2.64
	Christians	Gail Forder	1,058	1.25	+1.25
	Rise Up Australia	Jennifer Whately	708	0.83	+0.83
Total formal votes			84,800	96.75	-0.32
Informal votes			2,850	3.25	+0.32
Turnout			87,650	92.86	-0.36
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Julie Bishop	57,171	67.42	+1.23
	Labor	Daryl Tan	27,629	32.58	-1.23
	Liberal hold		Swing	+1.23

External links

• Division of Curtin - Australian Electoral Commission