Seat of the week: Kingsford Smith

Peter Garrett’s Maroubra-area seat has been held by Labor since it was created in 1949, but a creeping demographic tide together with Labor’s electoral woes in NSW has encouraged the Liberals to give the seat a closer look.

Kingsford Smith was created with the enlargement of parliament in 1949 around Clovelly, Coogee and Randwick in Sydney’s inner south-east. Originally held by Labor with narrow margins, their positioned was strengthened when the Maroubra area at the northern entrance to Botany Bay was first added in 1955. The only time their hold has been threatened since was with the 1966 landslide, when the margin was reduced to 1.5%, but there appears to have been a steady trend towards the Liberals in evidence over the past two decades. The seat was held by Hawke government deputy prime minister Lionel Bowen from 1969 to 1990, and then by senior Wran-Unsworth state government minister Laurie Brereton, who served on the front bench from 1993 until his surprise retirement announcement shortly before the 2004 election. The then leader Mark Latham took the opportunity to secure the endorsement for Peter Garrett, nationally famous since the 1980s as the lead singer for Midnight Oil and more recently the president of the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Garrett was promoted to the front bench as Shadow Environment Minister when Kevin Rudd came to the leadership in December 2006, and he maintained the portfolio in his government. However, his status was been diminished on two occasions during the first term. After the election win Rudd created a separate climate change portfolio, which was entrusted to Penny Wong. This followed a difficult election campaign in which Garrett was pilloried over a “jocular” comment in a casual conversation with talk radio host Steve Price to the effect that Labor would change all its policies when in government. The second occasion resulted from the problematic insulation batts program, for which Greg Combet assumed responsibility in February 2010 through his new position of Minister Assisting the Climate Change Minister.

In common with other Labor members throughout Sydney, the 2010 election took a large bite out of Garrett’s electoral margin, which was reduced from 13.3% to 5.2%. After the election he was reassigned to the school education, early childhood and youth portfolio, defying expectations he would be dropped from cabinet. The portfolio had originally been entitled simply schools, early childhood and youth, but this was changed when it was pointed out the word “education” had not appeared on the cabinet list, its responsibilities having been divided between Garrett and Chris Evans as Jobs, Skills and Workplace Relations Minister. A report that the Prime Minister intended to drop Garrett in the reshuffle conducted in December 2011, but was dissuaded by a threat from Garrett to quit parliament and bring on a by-election in his eminently loseable seat, was firmly denied by all concerned. Having been similarly unable to relegate Robert McClelland due to resistance from the New South Wales Right, the size of cabinet was contentiously increased two places to 22 so the Prime Minister could accommodate her desired promotions.

Early in 2012 the Liberals preselected Michael Feneley, cardiology professor and director of the heart lung program at St Vincent’s Hospital. Feneley was also the candidate in 2010, and ran for Maroubra at the March 2011 state election. There were earlier suggestions that former Parramatta MP Ross Cameron might be interested in seeking a comeback in the seat. In July this year, the ALP determined to pursue a fast-track preselection process that would secure endorsement for Garrett, among others. There had been speculation that local resident Bob Carr might like to use the seat which encompasses his old state electorate of Maroubra to transfer from Senate to House, and there have also been suggestions the seat is of interest to Ben Keneally, husband of the former Premier and mayor of Botany as of the local government elections of September 2012.

Author: William Bowe

William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.

3,069 comments on “Seat of the week: Kingsford Smith”

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  1. And it keeps getting better…
    [ Neil Pharaoh ‏@Neilphar
    @2GB873 has breached ACMA guidelines by removing list of advertisers from it’s website. Watch this space. #alanjonesisadisgrace #auspol]

  2. lizzie

    [I’m speechless at this.
    Warning: some of this tirade may offend the sensitive]
    The comments left by Akerman fanbois exceed his offensiveness by an order of magnitude.

  3. [Abbott has to show his ugly head some time.]

    The hair net industry must be praying for his speedy return to daily stunt action.

  4. al palster@2988


    Wonder when,where which Journo will be the first to ask Gillard about the Jones comment and non-apology? I hope the response is nothing more than a withering stare and not a word uttered.

    Agreed.

    I wonder though who will be the first to ask :monkey: ? I mean, the guy must know its coming, the very next doorstop or photo opp he does. This is just completely unavoidable for him.

    Most likely outcome is that he finishes q’s and walks (runs?) away. Would not expect to see :monkey: being interviewed in any format for the next week or so that precludes that.

  5. I wonder whether Mr Morris meant for people to kick the Prime Minister to death before or after she was put in the chaff bag and dumped at sea?

    I do wish these classy Liberals would be clear about what they mean. After all, they mean what they say, don’t they?

  6. [BK
    Posted Monday, October 1, 2012 at 4:49 pm | PERMALINK
    Abbott has to show his ugly head some time.]
    A month’s time he will come out behind Peta???

  7. poroti

    I don’t even want to imagine the thoughts of Piers’ fanboys. I’m already having trouble with Alan Jones butler’s duties.

  8. [AshGhebranious ‏@AshGhebranious
    Lets see. Alan Jones utters a shameful comment. Then he offers a shameful apology. And @TonyAbbottMHR thinks its all settled?}
    In a nutshell.

  9. It’s a full press from the Liberal hack gallery. This Jones matter must be really impacting on their focus groups.

    I loved this comment:

    “Alan Jones has been dumped as headline speaker at an anti-coal seam gas rally on the Tweed next week, with organisers condemning him as a ‘thoughtless bastard’ for his extraordinary personal attack on Julia Gillard”.

    “That anybody would suggest that a parent died of shame because of their child is so beyond the pale that it beggars belief that anybody, let alone someone with any sort of public profile, would think it, let alone make it,” Mr McNamara said in a scathing statement.

    “To make such a comment within two weeks of the death of Julie Gillard’s father suggests such a lack of human compassion as to be incomprehensible.

    http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/alan-jones-apologises-as-sponsors-pull-ads/story-e6frf7jo-1226484904553

  10. Things I’d like to see # 54

    Tony Abbott: ….. by this toxic tax based on a lie. Any questions?

    Journalist: Mr Abbott, do you have anything to say about Alan Jones’ comments about the Prime Minister’s father? Should he resign?

    Tony Abbott: Look .. aah … I’ve said all that I intend to say about this sorry incident. Alan has apologised and that should be an end to it.

    Camera pans to show journalists packing away their notepads and iPhones; stills photographers popping lens-caps onto cameras; tripods being folded and everyone drifting away talking about whether it’s too early for a beer.

    Tony Abbott: But … but….. For Christ’s sake! Somebody get this octopus off me!!

  11. So, low-life Newman has just linked the death of five people in a car accident to Mr Swan and Ms Gillard.

    No wonder he is an admiring fan of Mr Jones.

    These guys hunt in packs.

  12. Newman virtually blaming Albo for the horrible accident on the weekend. “Money should not be spent in other states. It should be spent in Queensland.”

  13. The exit of numerous sponsors from a disgraced radio broadcaster is a time honoured ritual that is usually followed by a skulking return once the heat has gone out of a particular issue.

    I suppose the question is whether this could be the beginning of the end of Jones or it’s just another episode in his disgraceful but ongoing crusade.

  14. From a fews days ago:

    [The Commonwealth’s settlement – if approved by the learned judge – gets Roxon and her team out of the muck and mud that is about to be thrown.]

    The settlement does not need approval as the parties are grown ups (in the sense that Ashby is 18+ years old)

    [Slipper can now go in as hard as he likes, and as nasty.]

    Not really. He can only seek to admit admissible evidence. If he goes the squirrel, he will piss off the judge and lose even more money than he has spent on costs to date.

    [He may not run his own case (smart lawyers don’t do that), but he would understand the issues and the stakes much better than the flibberty-gibbet who started it all.]

    His case is on tomorrow so them lawyers better be engaged sooner rather than later or he will los his extant application which will cost him a farquin bomb.

  15. BK,

    I wonder if Newman will take the rap for Queensland burning down due to the sacking of firemen.

    I would have thought the Jones matter might have wised up a few of the Conservatives that outrageous hyperbole is like a boomerang that comes back to hit you fair square etween the eyes.

  16. Is anyone else getting the feeling that Aussies have absolutely had enough of the fear and loathing perpetrated by the media and they are once again trying to bring about gentler days and less divisiveness in out society.

    Jones’efforts to justify his crass and disgusting comments on the weekend and the touching silent march by thousands through the streets of Melbourne on the weekend signal to me that we have all had enough.

    We want our kinder more considerate society back.

    You simply cannot do and say whatever you please and think you will get away with it anymore.

  17. c@tmomms – Yep, I know what Morris is and that’s why I find it hilarious when he gets all hotheaded and rants on Agenda on Monday afternoons. You can always tell when the Oppn is in trouble cos Morris goes over the top – facial expressions are also worth watching.

    Hawker was all over him today which made poor Morris worse.

    I hope newspoll isn’t too off the trend for Labor tonight – Morris was salivating about Newman’s polling but he obviously hasn’t seen Poss’ graphs

  18. leone@2999,
    That would be when he lived in a gigantic converted warehouse at Newtown.

    Yes! Newtown rings a very loud bell. It was hard for the Union to get access to the young man, as I remember the story, but they did eventually.

    Actually, my OH had a very close friend, an artist called Pixie(aren’t they all? 😉 ), who lived in a converted warehouse in Newtown. It was massive. You could only get access to their living area via an old service elevator. I imagine something similar applied to the Jones’ pile.

  19. [

    The Commonwealth’s settlement – if approved by the learned judge – gets Roxon and her team out of the muck and mud that is about to be thrown.

    The settlement does not need approval as the parties are grown ups (in the sense that Ashby is 18+ years old)]

    You can just TELL the judge it’s all over and he’ll rubber stamp it without demur? I didn’t think that was the case, but bow to your superior knowledge, ShellB.

    [

    Slipper can now go in as hard as he likes, and as nasty.

    Not really. He can only seek to admit admissible evidence. If he goes the squirrel, he will piss off the judge and lose even more money than he has spent on costs to date.]

    What I meant by this was you can go easy, or you can go hard in a case. You can fight it to the last ditch, or you can settle to save further pain and expense. You can bankrupt a losing plaintiff, or choose to “let him off with a warning”, waive costs, shake hands and be happy you’ve proved your point.

    Of course, it’s all got to be predicated on the use of admissable evidence. But unless there was a “hard-ball” option, there woouldn’t be any point in the term “model litigant” as it applies to the Commonwealth.

    With the “model litigant” out of the way, Slipper is given a free hand to be as spiteful – within the rules, of course – as he wishes. That was the point I was trying to get across.

  20. BK@3017,
    Newman virtually blaming Albo for the horrible accident on the weekend. “Money should not be spent in other states. It should be spent in Queensland.”

    By that logic, every road fatality during John Howard’s 12 years in office were all his fault. He spent less on Queensland roads than the federal Labor government, by an order of magnitude at least.

  21. Sophie’s still copping it on Twitter.
    [dragon ‏@tony_ryuu
    @AngelOfAttitude @smirabellamp Sophie knows how to deal with finances,aahh if only those union members were octogenarians]
    Denyse Gibbs ‏@denysegibbsy
    @BrigadierSlog @GeorgeBludger @SMirabellaMP She reminds me of a nasty self absorbed girl I went to school with. It’s all about me mentality.]

  22. “@AlboMP: The #trolls are really out there today. Abuse and invective just reinforcing my comments about the political climate since 2010”

  23. SNIP: See article 3 of comment moderation guidelines – The Management.

    [IT’S really open now.

    The first section of the Cooroy to Curra re-routing of the Bruce Hwy was in full operation yesterday, after opening to southbound traffic late Tuesday.

    Northbound lanes opened early yesterday and drivers rated it “beautiful,” “smooth” and “terrific”.

    One expressed the qualifying remark that the speed limit of 100kmh seemed strange for such an advanced dual carriageway, compared to the 110kmh limit just south of Cooroy.]

    This bit of Federally Funded Road opened last friggin’ week.
    http://www.gympietimes.com.au/story/2012/09/27/new-hwy-section-in-full-use-bruce-cooroy-curra/

  24. Albo hit the mark earlier, as he often does, I’m a little surprised it’s not being run with more in here. Bigger picture is about the Liberal Party “culture”

    I think he is spot on, sadly – there is a distinct “culture” within the Liberals that endorses the kind of thing that Jones says. There is a whole group of people in the party that see him as a kind of God and will side with him no matter what – Tony Abbott included, if he can get away with it.

    The question is – how long will it before the genuine Liberals, with decent hearts, stand up for themselves and to these people???

    Malcolm Turnbull, your time has come – it’s now or never imo

    In saying that, can people please not support what Belinda Neal said – it was an absolute disgrace

  25. No Newspoll

    Troy Bramston ‏@TroyBramston
    No federal #Newspoll this week in @australian – back next week. Will have a preview next Monday @SkyNewsAust at 11pm #auspol

  26. [Poliquant
    Posted Monday, October 1, 2012 at 5:43 pm | PERMALINK
    No Newspoll

    Troy Bramston ‏@TroyBramston
    No federal #Newspoll this week in @australian – back next week. Will have a preview next Monday @SkyNewsAust at 11pm #auspol]
    If true that is great, with a bit of luck this unhinging we are witnessing will continue, as they usually start about Thursday to poll

  27. [Richard Werkhoven ‏@rwerkh
    @SMirabellaMP @GMegalogenis Young libs called it a great speech, did labour congratulate Neal for her comment?]
    That must hurt!

  28. [BK
    Posted Monday, October 1, 2012 at 5:34 pm | PERMALINK
    Well done Tone. You’ve played a blinder today.]

    Sure did obviously hiding behind Peta somewhere

  29. “@Telstra: @jennaprice We take matters like this seriously. Telstra will not support the Alan Jones breakfast program -Esther”

  30. [Ackerman’s ‘journalism’ has, undeniably, been disastrous.
    He, and the Liberals, have lied continually.
    Most of the media have ignored this.]

    Fixed.

  31. There goes all the conspiracy theories about the timing of the release of the story being about waiting until Newspoll had finished polling 🙂

    Personally I think it was timed beautifully – last week it would’ve lost most of it’s impact being in Grand Final week. This week it gets much more chance of getting cleaner air.

    If I wanted to play the conspiracy theory game – maybe this is Neil Breen making his mark before leaving the Sunday Telegraph at the end of the month???

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