Seats of the week: Fadden and Moncrieff

This week’s Seat of the Week double-up accounts for the northern two-third of the Gold Coast, served by Liberal National Party members Stuart Robert and Steven Ciobo.

Fadden

Teal and red numbers respectively indicate booths with two-party majorities for the LNP and Labor. Click for larger image. Map boundaries courtesy of Ben Raue at The Tally Room.

Fadden covers the northern part of the Gold Coast municipality, from Gaven and Labrador in the south through Coomera, Pimpama and Ormeau to Logan River in the north, with the Pacific Motorway forming most of its western boundary. This area’s intensive population growth has caused the electorate to be progressively drawn into the Gold Coast since its creation in 1977, at which time it contained none of its present territory, instead covering outer southern Brisbane and the Gold Coast’s rural hinterland. The redistribution caused by the expansion of parliament in 1984 drew it into Brisbane, extending as far northwards as Salisbury and Rochedale, with the Logan River as its southern boundary. It first infringed upon the Gold Coast when it acquired Coomera at the 1996 election, the migration being completed with the exchange of Redland Bay in the north for Southport in the south at the 2004 election. The ongoing population explosion caused it to shed nearly 14,000 voters inland of its current boundary at the most recent Queensland redistribution before the 2010 election.

With the exception of 1983, Fadden in its various guises has been won at every election by the conservatives, meaning the the Liberal Party prior to the 2010 merger and the Liberal National Party thereafter. The inaugural member was Don Cameron, who had held Griffith for the Liberals since 1966. The 1975-engorged margin was whittled away at the 1977 and 1980 elections, then overturned with David Beddall’s victory for Labor with the election of the Hawke government. Cameron returned to parliament a year later at a by-election caused by Jim Killen’s retirement in Moreton, which became the third seat he represented. The 1984 redistribution made Fadden notionally Liberal, causing David Beddall to jump ship for Rankin. The seat was then won for the Liberals by David Jull, who had held the seat of Bowman from 1975 until his defeat in 1983. Jull’s margins were less than 5% until 1996, but generally well into double digits thereafter.

Jull was succeeded on his retirement at the 2007 election by Stuart Robert, a former army intelligence officer. Robert was said to have played a role in “rounding up support” for Tony Abbott ahead of his challenge to Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership in December 2009, and was elevated afterwards to shadow parliamentary secretary in the defence portfolio. He was further promoted after the 2010 election to the outer shadow ministry portfolio of defence science, technology and personnel, which was rebadged as Assistant Defence Minister following the 2013 election victory.

Moncrieff

Teal numbers indicate two-party majority for the LNP. Click for larger image. Map boundaries courtesy of Ben Raue at The Tally Room.

Moncrieff covers the central Gold Coast from Miami north through Surfers Paradise to Nerang Head, and inland to Nerang and Highland Park. The seat was created with the expansion of parliament in 1984, previous to which the entirety of the Gold Coast had been accommodated by McPherson since 1949, and by Moreton beforehand. Moncrieff originally extended deep into rural territory at Beaudesert, before assuming its current coastal orientation with Beaudesert’s transfer to Forde in 1996. Prior to Moncrieff’s creation the entirety of the Gold Coast had been accommodated by McPherson, which had itself been created with the previous expansion of parliament in 1949. The Gold Coast had originally been contained within the electorate of Moreton, which has since migrated into Brisbane’s southern suburbs. The area has had conservative representation without interruption since 1906, with McPherson passing from Country Party to Liberal Party control in 1972, and Moncrieff being in Liberal and more recently Liberal National Party hands since its creation.

Steven Ciobo assumed the seat at the 2001 election after the retirement of its inaugural member, Kathy Sullivan, who had previously been a Senator since 1974, establishing what remains a record as the longest serving female member of federal parliament. Ciobo emerged through Liberal ranks as a member of the Right faction, associated with former ministers Santo Santoro and Warwick Parer and state party powerbroker Michael Caltabiano. He rose to the shadow ministry in the small business portfolio after the defeat of the Howard government, which was elevated to a shadow cabinet position when Malcolm Turnbull ascended to the leadership in September 2008. However, he was demoted to the outer shadow ministry portfolios of tourism, arts, youth and sport when Tony Abbott became leader in December 2009 and relegated to the back bench after the August 2010 election, which was generally reckoned to be a consequence of his support for Turnbull. Following the 2013 election victory he won promotion to parliamentary secretary to the Treasurer.

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.

621 comments on “Seats of the week: Fadden and Moncrieff”

Comments Page 6 of 13
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  2. “Because there has never been a public accounting for the decision to go to war, the treatment of Australian soldiers during the war and the treatment of Australian veterans, their families and friends after the war”.

    You obviously have not notices the copious copy that the Vietnam conflict generated over the last 5 or 6 decades.

    Because those responsible for the decisions that destroyed the lives of tens of thousands of Australians have never had to face the consequences of their actions.

    Those responsible are mostly dead.

    Because the war mongers keep wanting to take us to new wars as if the consequences are minor and temporary.

    Man going to war is not news. it’s been happening for eons.

    Finally, because the vets deserve the opportunity to put their side of the story on the public record.

    See my comment about going down to your local RSL.

  3. briefly

    Imagine the huge difference to discretionary spending if we had not had the way above the odds increase in house prices. As Mega George pointed out in the mid 2000’s . A larger % of household income was being spent paying the mortgage with “record low interest rates” than when the interest spike during Keating’s time . All thanks to the huge increase in house prices.

    Another fuack up by Labor . Letting the Liberals run with the bullshit that the interest rate spike was Keating’s fault rather than the global phenomena that it really was and beyond our control.

  5. Diogs,

    I seem to remember Adelaide supporters booed the point post that caused a serious leg injury to Wayne Carey some year’s ago.

  6. GG

    [I’ve always regarded Essendon supporters as Collingwood supporters that can read. So, I’m not surprised at all.]

    ROTFLOL

    BW

    I don’t blame Malceski. He was looking in the other direction. It was an unfortunate accident.

  11. As a side-note, it is worth reflecting on where labor would be if it had listened to fools like Nick Champion and abandoned the Carbon Tax. Would look as worthless as the libs.

  13. GG

    [I seem to remember Adelaide supporters booed the point post that caused a serious leg injury to Wayne Carey some year’s ago.]

    That matter is still before the courts as the point post is suing for defamation so I am unable to comment.

    BW

    That’s seriously bad news for Essendon that OHWS are investigating them. They clearly haven’t provided a safe work environment and will get fined for sure.

  14. bemused@218


    I really would like to see ALL homes fitted with an RCD. Then when the power was turned back on, if there was a fault it would possibly trip, or if someone touched anything in an electrified roof cavity it would trip then.

    Should get one installed myself.

    You mean that safety circuit breakers are not mandatory?

    I just checked, and they are not, at least for private homes. That is ridiculous.

    That is something that TA could have done during his regime, made them compulsory for all meter boxes, new or retrofitted.

  15. Diogs,

    The law is clear cut!

    Umpires and goal posts are both inanimate objects and can’t sue for the boo!

  16. Ta everyone, don’t think I will be so chirpy after 3 long flights one after the other and finally a very quick turnaround at Athens to catch the Croatian plane, buggers changed the time of the flight into Athens

  17. Diogenes #263

    Can you imagine what would happen to a factory down the road where the management were conducting a pharmacological experiment that saw them injecting their staff with unknown/unrecorded chemical substances in order to improve productivity ?

  18. [I just checked, and they are not, at least for private homes. That is ridiculous. ]

    RCD switches are mandatory in WA and have been for some years now.

  19. [Rex Douglas
    Posted Saturday, May 17, 2014 at 2:10 pm | Permalink

    Boerwar

    A RC would just determine what we all know.

    We sacrifice our people and our money for the security of alliance.]

    Comrade, where have you been?

    (1) In case of future armed conflicts involving Australia, the United States will consult its national interest. End of story. This is what all nations do.

    (2) The (apparently) ritual ‘sacrifice’ – your term – of Australians in previous wars will not affect this. Just to put some context into that sentence: the US conducts joint naval exercises with Vietnam.

    (3) There has never been a proper public accounting of the decision making in relation to the Vietnam War. In fact, big lies about that war to come from the mouths of the war mongers.

    (4) The people who made ‘our sacrifice’ have never had a public opportunity to say what they really think about being sacrificed.

  20. mari

    I suggest you stay away from Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Egypt, Turkey, China, Syria, the Crimea, the Sudan, Nigeria, Russia, the Ukraine, Chechnya, most of the Philippines…

    Have a good time.

  22. confessions

    I live in an old place and Western Power came around and fitted them to the fuse box the best part of 10 years ago. I was very happy to see it as at work an earth leakage box had saved my life. Big fan of ELB’s ever since.
    They have been compulsory on W.A. construction sites , union ones, for at least 28 years.

  23. comfessions

    My understanding is that safety switches have been mandatory on any dwellings constructed in past 25 years, but not enforced for existing homes prior to that date

  24. Rex

    [Can you imagine what would happen to a factory down the road where the management were conducting a pharmacological experiment that saw them injecting their staff with unknown/unrecorded chemical substances in order to improve productivity ?]

    Exactly. There is a good case for them getting done for reckless endangerment.

  26. [ Rex Douglas
    Posted Saturday, May 17, 2014 at 2:10 pm | PERMALINK
    Boerwar

    A RC would just determine what we all know.

    We sacrifice our people and our money for the security of alliance. ]

    It would establise and inform people much more than that, for example the trade benefits the then Country Party sought as a quid pro quo for our participation in the war.

    Also the utter political ineptness of the tories in the deployment of the taskforce without briefing the Commanding Officer on even the basics of what an Australian Government expected to achieve.

    Further the admission by senior tories that they had no strategy to get out of Vietnam, just one to get in – and an invitation was cooked up between the US and Vietnam at our request, so that we were ‘invited’ to go there and get about 500 of our best people killed and the future lives of tens of thousands more ruined plus the lives of their families also in many cases.

    Rather as much a concern as the H.I.P. RC me thinks.

  29. [244
    daretotread

    While I was once very opposed to the GST and especially the GST on food, I am now rather more inclined towards it because it can become in effect a tax on the most well off – PROVIDED it is accompanied by a clear INDEXED tax rebate to compensate ordinary people.]

    It’s a whole lot less trouble to just not tax food.

  34. comfessions

    Excellent move by WA. As far as i know, Victorian legislation does not go far enough. Older homes that undergo major renovations here in vic require installation of a safety switch.

  35. Diogenes #274

    Essendon FC is a very powerful organisation that contribute$$$ greatly to an even MORE powerful industry (AFL) that generates a lifeblood to its subsidiaries (MSM).

    The attacks on ASADA from vested interests are strategic and relentless. There is a massive amount of capital at stake.

  37. Reflecting on mike carlton’s piece today. I loved the last bit

    “On Tuesday he [Abbott] fell beneath it, face down in the mud, and will never be trusted again”

  38. Confessions

    I do stand to be corrected, but that is my recollection. I know smoke alarms are mandatory, but not safety switches. I believe it might have something to do with older electrical switchboards not able to manage the safety switches without total replacement. Mind you i should ask my son. Even though he does not work in the domestic field. All his work is in the commercial and industrial sector, but he may have a better understanding of this matter.

  39. JOURNALIST:
    Do you think a discussion on the GST is now necessary?
    BOWEN:
    Look, we’re always happy to have a discussion, we’ll be proactive in the debate about tax reform, but it will be informed by our values and our values tell us that it’s important to protect lower middle income earners in this process, but the way that Tony Abbott’s going about it, blackmailing the states into calling for an increase in the GST is completely unacceptable…

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/224657352/THE-HON1

    Well, reading between the lines, I’m tipping the ALP will be waving through a GST hike (with compensation).

    Unsurprising and disappointing.

  40. Lizzie

    [Did anyone hear Prissie Pyne ranting about the privileged students this morning?]

    Bowen had a pretty good retort…..

    [Seriously, Christopher Pyne needs to grow up. There’s no place for violent protest in Australia…But for Christopher Pyne and the Liberal Party to try and score political points out of this is nothing short of pathetic]

  41. [ Did anyone hear Prissie Pyne ranting about the privileged students this morning? ]

    Does anyone remember when education was not a privilege, but a right?

  42. I liked Bowen’s comments today. Wtte……

    Rather than Hockey having inherited a budget emergency, he has created one

  43. Victoria,

    Bowen stepping up, I like it. He cuts through well IMO.

    Between him and Palmer they are doing over the LNP.

    And thats not a criticism of Shorten.

  46. SK

    Shorten has done well. So has JMacklin.

    Personally i think Palmer is the one to cut through, because he represents the anti politician. Despite what i believe are Palmer’s motivations, if he is saying that we do not have a debt and deficit crisis, voters will believe it

  49. I don’t think that Labor can be too precious about the GST.

    It was always on the cards with Paul K and that fact that he nailed Hewson and what was, in long 20/20 hindsight, the way to go, a case of strong politics over weak.

    The fact that the conservatives have always claimed they “went to the people” with the GST (under Howard) has always played big with them, especially after Labor’s more recent gambit with the CT. The fact that Big Kimbo railed against the GST – and still lost – shows how much effort can be wasted when the caravan moves on.

    While not signalling support or otherwise for a broadened GST I think Labor would be wise to factor the possibility that it might have to use a broadened one when back in office.

    There is nothing essentially evil in a such a tax.

    The evil comes when other taxes are dumped on the top of such a tax, when other taxes run parallel to such a tax and when there is no discrimination between what items to tax and which not.

    After experience with GST Mark 1, everyone should be cynical and wary about the likes of Abbott/Hockey/IPA when it comes to the GST because the whole push of the 80 billion to be cut from health and education to the States is all to do with GST Mark 2.

  50. Simon Katich

    [And thats not a criticism of Shorten]
    Pollies do well having the equivalent comedian’s funny man and straight man or the good cop bad cop set up.

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