The electorate of Parramatta has existed without interruption since federation, shrinking over time from Sydney’s broad north-western outskirts into the immediate area of the town itself. It presently extends from the Parramatta town centre southwards to Granville, westwards to Wentworthville, northwards to Carlingford and eastwards to Rydalmere. This area is distinguished by a high level of ethnic diversity, being home to particularly large Chinese, Indian and Lebanese communities.
Parramatta was once a conservative stronghold, having only been won for Labor prior to 1977 with the election of Jim Scullin’s government in 1929. Notable members included Joseph Cook, who held the seat for its first 20 years and served as Liberal prime minister from June 1913 to September 1914; Sir Garfield Barwick, member from 1958 to 1964, who served as External Affairs Minister and Attorney-General in the Menzies government before going on to an immensely controversial tenure as Chief Justice of the High Court; and Philip Ruddock, who began his parliamentary career after winning the seat at a by-election in September 1973, adding 7.0% to what had been an extremely narrow margin in 1972.
The watershed in the seat’s history came with a redistribution in 1977 that effectively changed the existing seat’s name to Dundas, of which Philip Ruddock became the inaugural member, while creating a new seat of Parramatta that extended deep into Sydney’s Labor-voting west. The newly safe Labor seat was won by John Brown, the Hawke government Tourism Minister remembered for his dislike of koalas and inappropriate use of his ministerial desk. Brown resigned as minister in 1987 after admitting (which he would later retract) that he had misled parliament, and he was succeeded in Parramatta by Paul Elliott in 1990.
Redistributions in 1984 and 1993 returned the seat to the marginal column by pulling it back to the east, reducing the margin to 1.0% ahead of the 1993 election. Elliott was able to increase his margin on that occasion, but he was unseated by a 7.1% swing in 1996. Incoming Liberal member Ross Cameron held out against a relatively mild swing of 1.1% in 1998, and further survived a highly unfavourable redistribution that pushed the electorate southwards in 2001 by picking up a swing of 3.6%. Shortly before the 2004 election he felt compelled to tell Fairfax’s Good Weekend magazine that he had committed numerous infidelities throughout his married life, and he emerged from the election as one of only three Coalition members to have lost their seat.
Labor’s new member was Julie Owens, classically trained pianist, former chief executive of the Association of Independent Record Labels and member of the Left faction. Owens faced an early challenge when another substantial distribution ahead of the 2007 election pushed the seat back to the north, but she easily accounted for the notional Liberal margin of 0.8% with a 7.7% swing consistent with the western Sydney trend. The redistribution pendulum swung heavily the other way when the seat absorbed the northern half of its abolished southern neighbour Reid ahead of the 2010 election, boosting the margin to 9.5%. There were suggestions this might result in Owens contesting Greenway, which took over the western end of the old Parramatta around Pendle Hill and Kings Langley, with Parramatta going to Owens’ factional mentor, Reid MP Laurie Ferguson. However, Ferguson was instead accommodated in Werriwa and Owens stayed put, surviving a 5.5% swing that reduced her margin to 4.4%.
The Liberals have preselected Martin Zaiter, a 29-year-old partner in a local accountancy firm, who was chosen ahead of a field that included the unsuccessful candidate from 2010, engineer Charles Camenzuli. There has been ongoing speculation over the years that Ross Cameron might seek a return to politics, but invariably in relation to other seats.
BG basically Newman sucks and Abbott would suck like Newman. The audience screamed with excitement. It was very moving. 🙂
Yes. John bosco
But called st dominic college
[Rummy, what do you mean?]
My wife is Labor through and through and Abbott’s so call punch issue has not been noticed by her. I am sure it has been missed by a lot of other voters.
davidwh
Posted Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 8:22 pm | Permalink
BG basically Newman sucks and Abbott would suck like Newman. The audience screamed with excitement. It was very moving.
]
Excellent. That is what rhetoric is supposed to do.
Her speeches are now starting to apply some classical rhetorical elements. They didnt when she was ‘moving forward’.
zoidlord Posted Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 7:58 pm | P
Got us involved in iraq. Lokking. For. W md s
[ My wife is Labor through and through and Abbott’s so call punch issue has not been noticed by her. I am sure it has been missed by a lot of other voters. ]
How about you get off the PC for a while and give her a go. Could be a different story then.
😉
[Your ability to brush over Gillard saying there would be no carbon tax under a government she leads and then conceding there would be a carbon tax under a government she leads is breathtaking.]
She never conceded it was a carbon tax, she said she wasn’t going to waste energy arguing with morons who called it such. There isn’t a carbon tax there is a carbon price consistent with what Rudd, Howard, Turnbull and Gillard supported and Labor all took too two elections in a row. The only lie is that there is a lie. It is spread by despicable scum who are deliberately lying and morons who have trouble spelling their names.
which are you?
[How about you get off the PC for a while and give her a go. Could be a different story then.]
She is on a jet back from a nursing conference. I will ask her if it was mentioned over the weekend.
My Say.
St John Bosco was closley associated with St Alouyisous
Sorry about the spelling
[My wife is Labor through and through]
My partner has often said they would not have even dated me, let alone married me, if I didn’t support labor, how through and through labor could someone who married you be?
Doesn’t. Your wife discuss anything with you
Rummell
That’s what i mean my oh and i discuss the daily news why have you not told her
Are u keeping it quite
If my oh was lib, i doubt we would of spent
These 43 years in wedded bliss,
The mock front page of The Australian linked to earlier is based on Giovanni Bazzi’s portrait of St. Sebastian. It’s probably safe to find it humorous without compromising one’s sense of decency.
http://www.catholictradition.org/sebastian.htm
[how through and through labor could someone who married you be?]
Ask Scorpio, he has met my wife.
Paddy. I didn’t know. That
Rosstrevor, is. A christian bros school. I. Believe
My Say
Its an odd world but Liberal and Labor voters live together and love together. As do protestants and catholics, believers and atheists, white people and black people.
Barnyard has nailed Tony Abbott’s problem, and its;
[Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is not properly portrayed in the media but that’s partly because of his unusual walking style, outspoken Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce has joked.
…
“Tony Abbott, the person I see, is not properly portrayed in the media,” he told the Nationals’ federal conference in Canberra.
“Some of that’s his own fault. I wish he’d stop square-gaiting when he walks.”
The opposition leader is well known for his cowboy-style swagger.]
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/abbott-should-drop-the-swagger-joyce-20120916-2603j.html
Blue green
That’s your opinion
Only
spur212
Let’s face it, Rudd overplayed his hand this week, even disgusted those few in the msm who are trying to retrieve his lost mojo.
It wasn’t his fault he’d already organised a 7.30 i/view, what with being an Aus rep at the WEC in China, and the made-for-ripping-apart Barnaby shite over Cubbie (was it even mentioned??), Abbott’s faux pas in China, and Newman’s slash and burn in Qld, it was a perfect forum for his comeback.
But what happened, the PM’s father unexpectedly passed away.
And he, and his crummy advisors, didn’t think to pull the 7.30 i/view out of respect.
That says as much about his political nous as I ever need to know.
He buried himself. So be it.
My Say
Is a liberal voter less likely to go to heaven than a labor voter?
My say
Can same sex people only marry if they vote for the same party?
Kezza2
For someone who wants me to “get with the ticket”, you’re sure going the wrong way about it
love your work bluegreen 🙂
A lot of. People live togethet
In. Name only
They are. Not alwsyx life long. Friends
We in those days
Would not even of dated if we where. Not both been catholic
We have just about everything in common there is. To have.
Our children did not set out to met catholic partners but they have
and co incidentl all vote labor
We have great. Family gatherings, with all the in laws
My Say
I had the pleasure of having a hug from Julia today, I thought of you and how much you would have enjoyed it.
Rummel
I don’t speek for other people
What a stupid question
@bluegreen/1819
Shouldn’t you ask your leader about that question?
@rummel/1820
Not sure what your trying to pull there.
I don’t think same sex marriage is on the Coalition’s Agenda either.
[Brown resigned as minister in 1987 after it was established he had misled parliament]
Brown resigned after admitting he misled parliament, not after anyone else established he had donme do. After his retirement he retracted his admission, saying he only made it to protect Hawke.
Greetings from Thailand, bludgers.
Mod lib. Ib u do know b/g. Is a liberal
WeWantPaul,
[ My wife is Labor through and through ]
[ My partner has often said they would not have even dated me, let alone married me, if I didn’t support labor, how through and through labor could someone who married you be? ]
I strongly suspect that Rumms can’t believe his luck in that regard and I reckon it would pay him to tread very carefully because I don’t believe his other half would be very impressed with his comments in the past couple of days.
You can be a Coalition supporter Rumms, but you don’t have to be a moronic one.
An awful lot of people that have a different political viewpoint from you gave you unbelievable support just recently because they believed you to be a decent human being.
Don’t let them down by trying to be as big a slime bag as many mindless, Coalition supporters happen to be.
They think you are decent. Don’t let them down. Have a contrary view if you feel necessary, but don’t try and be like the likes of Jones & Co in the slime bag stakes.
[You do realise that “the economy” and “government revenue” are two different things?]
Hey cool!!!! I got a message from God.
Normally prayers go the other way don’t they?
Yes, economy and government revenue are different but the point still stands despite my writing style…the ALP have been arguing that Howard and Costello did nothing, it was just that there were rivers of gold pouring in from the mining boom. Then we had the story that the mining boom didn’t do very much for us at all, and the miners don’t employ that many people, and we didn’t get enough money from the boom into the federal coffers.
And, yes, I do understand that the money doesn’t go into coffers as well! 🙂
[WeWantPaul
[Posted Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 8:29 pm | Permalink
My wife is Labor through and through
My partner has often said they would not have even dated me, let alone married me, if I didn’t support labor, how through and through labor could someone who married you be?]
they is a bit of a worry!
bluegreen
[Is a liberal voter less likely to go to heaven than a labor voter?]
Absolutely.
We don’t like to let on, because we like to keep the place exclusive, but the cat’s out of the bag now.
Thank you ms adventure that’s so nice of you
When i emailed
Her i said i wished i could reach out to her,
Loosing a dad is a hard time
Then to turn around and go to the soldiers funeral
Well. Words fail me .
Abbott is not worthy to even be in the same room?
Hmmm! I always thought of Abbott’s walk as being a simian-style swagger.
[rummel
Posted Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 8:47 pm | Permalink
My say
Can same sex people only marry if they vote for the same party?]
There are a whole lot of reasons why same sex people can’t marry and it doesn’t seem to matter much which of the big partys they support!
[Brown resigned after admitting he misled parliament, not after anyone else established he had donme do. After his retirement he retracted his admission, saying he only made it to protect Hawke.]
I spent a minute or so wrestling with how to word that, before deciding near enough was good enough. I must confess I’d forgotten about the retracted admission.
[my say
Posted Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 8:51 pm | Permalink
Mod lib. Ib u do know b/g. Is a liberal]
Yep. I also eat babies, but at least I’m not prejudiced against people based on their beliefs, sexuality, race, or voting habits.
My Say
I said to her “Thank You” because she needs to hear appreciation after all the meanness directed at her.
Why. Fred
Marriage is a commitment for life
One has to weigh up. The facts
Love comes, the chemistry goes
The friendship begins
My turn to make the coffee on milk
And the yummy. Pashionfruit sponge. To go with it
Zoomster
Then the ALP is missing out on a serious marketing advantage.
Vote 1 ALP -Go to Heaven!
rummel,
[ how through and through labor could someone who married you be? ]
[ Ask Scorpio, he has met my wife. ]
I have and she is an absolute darling. Far too good for Rummel as I have said on a previous occasion.
If he was honest, I am sure Rummel would agree with me. Especially after the rot he has been posting the past couple of days. 🙂
[Is a liberal voter less likely to go to heaven than a labor voter?]
Yes, because cardinal george pell says atheist are still going to heven. Lucky for me!
rummel @ 1803
[My wife is Labor through and through and Abbott’s so call punch issue has not been noticed by her. I am sure it has been missed by a lot of other voters.]
Unless your wife’s sole source of news is The Daily Telegraph, then she must have been in a coma during the last week, as ‘Punchgate’ has been mentioned daily, almost hourly in every news organ bar the most rabid News Ltd tabloids.
It stretches credulity to its limits to suggest otherwise, regardless of whether you agree with the substance of the allegations.
spur212
[For someone who wants me to “get with the ticket”, you’re sure going the wrong way about it]
Oh, doesn’t a little laddie like being told the truth by a woman?
Here’s the go then.
I would prefer it if you read more widely, understood the issues better, and stopped selling JG short, that’s all.
If you want to keep carrying on with your moany covert Ruddstoration, just say so, instead of this constant concern about Labor’s position 12 months or so out from an election, coupled with your constant moany denigration of JG.
Comes across as tres faux Labor.
Is that what you really want people to think?
[Is a liberal voter less likely to go to heaven than a labor voter?]
Thats cos we are already here!
Hehe 🙂
@Mod Lib/1835
Really? perhaps you should send your complaints to your leader and Malcolm turnbull as the oppose the legislation on same sex marriage.
It’s got nothing to do with why some people can’t, it’s about those that can and want to do.
[If he was honest, I am sure Rummel would agree with me.]
Agree
[Especially after the rot he has been posting the past couple of days. ]
I would not go that far. 🙂
She. Sure does
How did she seem
That’s why i cannot abide poeople here that are. Nasty about julia
I would. Not mix with them in real life
I often kick my self at the end of the day for spending to much time
Here being unproductive
Msadventure, your memories are special and all yours
[Yes, because cardinal george pell says atheist are still going to heven. Lucky for me!]
All always imagined I would end up in some kind of purgatory.
The mall in this story is where we went shopping:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/09/16/12/chop-chop-victim-found-guadalupe-bridge