Seat of the week: Groom

Located in the Darling Downs and dominated by Toowoomba, the seat of Groom has provided a secure electoral base for Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane through a parliamentary career going back to 1998.

Located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Groom is dominated by the city of Toowoomba about 100 kilometres west of Brisbane, which accounts for slightly less than 80% of its population. Toowoomba is near the electorate’s eastern boundary, from which it extends westwards to Jondaryan and Pittsworth and northwards to Goombungee, along with sparsely populared rural areas further afield. The electorate was created with the expansion of parliament in 1984 as the successor to Darling Downs, which had existed since federation. Neither Darling Downs nor Groom has ever been held by Labor.

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

Darling Downs was held by the major conservative movement of the time from 1901 until 1936, when Arthur Fadden gained it for the Country Party at a by-election held after the death of United Australia Party member Sir Littleton Groom, who gives the modern electorate its name. When parliament expanded in 1949, Fadden moved to the new seat of McPherson, and an agreement between the coalition parties reserved Darling Downs for the Liberals. It was accordingly won with little difficulty by Liberal candidate Reginald Swartz, who retained it until his retirement in 1972. A three-cornered contest ensued at the 1972 election, in which Country Party candidate Tom McVeigh secured a comfortable victory after outpolling the Liberal candidate by 32.3% to 22.5%. McVeigh carried on as member for Groom after 1984 and retired in February 1988, leading to another three-cornered contest at the ensuing by-election. This time the seat fell to the Liberals, whose candidate Bill Taylor outpolled the Nationals candidate by 33.3% to 28.8%. With Taylor’s retirement in 1998 the seat was bequeathed to its current member, Ian Macfarlane, who polled 33.1% on debut against 18.0% for One Nation and 15.2% for the Nationals. The Nationals again fielded a candidate against Macfarlane in 2001, but gave him little trouble.

Recognisable for a distinctive voice resulting from damage sustained to his larynx following a cancer operation in 2004, Macfarlane served as a minister in the Howard government from January 2001, first in the junior portfolio of small business, then attaining cabinet rank as Industry, Tourism and Resources Minister after the October 2001 election. He attained further seniority in opposition, holding the trade portfolio under Brendan Nelson and energy and resources under Malcolm Turnbull. When Tony Abbott became leader in December 2009 he was moved to infrastructure to make way for Nick Minchin, but he recovered energy and resources when Minchin retired from the front-bench the following March. With the election of the Abbott government he was allocated to an expanded industry portfolio that incorporated responsibility for mining and science, the lack of a dedicated portfolio for the latter inspiring some controversy.

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.

1,381 comments on “Seat of the week: Groom”

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  1. [I’m sure Libs have focus grouped this “Team Australia” shite but we’ve seen plenty of focus group policy stuffups before and I think Abbott is just pissing people off with this simplistic rah rah crap.]

    I suspect that political party focus groups tend to be lacking the essential element of a black-hat thinker to lampoon silly concepts that deserve it.

  3. Diogenes@947

    AFL is easily the most watched sport in Australia. And Australia is sports mad.

    Speak for yourself.
    Watching sport of any kind is very low on my list of preferences and AFL is close to the bottom of that list.

    The only exceptions are the Australian Cricket Team and the Wallabies. But national honour is then at stake. 😉

  4. Hah, Bishop was lauded as doing a fab job in the Ukraine, now the party has given her the job of selling the budget.

    Mmmmmmm……….

  5. Diogenes @ 947

    AFL is easily the most watched sport in Australia. And Australia is sports mad.

    Point of order – AFL isn’t a sport. The sport is Australian football and the AFL is a football competition.

  6. Dee

    Swan made mention at his address today, that it is extraordinary that the treasurer of this country has been excoriated by the leader. Not even 12 months into their term.

  7. Diog

    Corflutes are incredibly useful things. We have one of John Brumby which we use to slide under the car. Others make great stands for signs.

    Bunting from polling booths is similarly extremely useful. I use it under garden paths, the boys have used it to make cubbies and recently I found it makes great splash sheets for painting jobs.

  8. Victoria

    The budget is poison.

    JBishop received a lot of favourable coverage re:Ukraine.

    Just pondered whether the move for JBishop to sell the budget was to exploit her apparent new found authority or a tactic to damage her? :

  11. WWP

    [If political parties can’t ethically raise election funds without taxpayer monies, then bad luck, no more expensive tv ad blitzes or shiny letterbox flyers.]

    What about the old way of running trivia nights etc to get your money for the campaign and standing on cold corners to elicit support from passers by.

    Worked for us every time and we didn’t have to put anything in a brown paper bag on the sly.

  12. where do I get my Team Australia uniform.

    I’m guessing it looks a bit like this

    very dapper.

    will they try to morph ‘Team Australia’ to ‘Team A’ to ‘Team Abbott’. to my mind ‘Team A-hole’ is probably more appropriate in our treatment of refugees and general xenophobia.

  13. Dee

    [Posted Monday, August 18, 2014 at 5:08 pm | PERMALINK
    Victoria

    The budget is poison.

    JBishop received a lot of favourable coverage re:Ukraine.

    Just pondered whether the move for JBishop to sell the budget was to exploit her apparent new found authority or a tactic to damage her? :]

    With nutjob Abbott at the helm, who knows!

  14. [Clive Palmer, has announced plans to host an unofficial “world climate change convention” at his Sunshine Coast resort, but would not reveal who would attend.

    The 17 November event will be held one day after the G20 meeting of world leaders in Brisbane, and just two weeks before a 12-day climate change conference in Lima, Peru, of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change]

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/18/clive-palmer-to-host-world-climate-change-convention-at-his-resort

  15. [952
    Boerwar
    Posted Monday, August 18, 2014 at 4:50 pm | PERMALINK
    I imagine that Hockey would be the ballboy on Team Australia.
    ]

    Or Left Right Out

  16. caf:

    [I’m sure Libs have focus grouped this “Team Australia” shite but we’ve seen plenty of focus group policy stuffups before and I think Abbott is just pissing people off with this simplistic rah rah crap.]

    Shite is the word. It’s funny how when it comes to values and culture it’s “Team Australia”. But when it comes to mining revenue, it’s “Team WA”.

  17. Abbott condoning drug cheats by the Sharks just now, claiming that innocent people had been ‘blaggarded’.

    Team Australia condones drug cheats.

  19. [One of Australia’s largest solar power projects has been shelved due to Renewable Energy Target uncertainty.
    The 100-megawatt Silex Mildura solar power station would have provided electricity to 40,000 homes, but after years of work the project has been abandoned.
    The company’s chief executive says uncertainty about the future of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) is a significant factor in the decision to shelve the power station development.
    However, energy companies have responded by arguing that the RET is ineffective at promoting renewable energy developments.]

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-18/silex-shelves-major-solar-power-station-on-ret-uncertainty/5679086

  21. Zoid

    They would say this wouldn’t they!

    [However, energy companies have responded by arguing that the RET is ineffective at promoting renewable energy developments.]

  23. [US oil and gas player Apache has made what is being heralded by some as Australia’s largest oil discovery in the past 30 years, potentially pointing to a new oil province off the north-west coast.
    The field found by the Phoenix South-1 well, which had been seen more likely to find gas than oil, could have potentially up to 300 million barrels of oil, Apache reported on Monday.
    Only a portion of that volume, however, would be recoverable, analysts said.
    While still in the early stages of evaluation, Apache’s chief operating officer for its international business, Thomas Voytovich, said the results from the drilling so far “point to a commercial discovery”.]

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/claims-of-australias-biggest-oil-discovery-in-30-years-20140818-1059vv.html#ixzz3Aj9qAJLs

  25. victoria

    [Clive Palmer, has announced plans to host an unofficial “world climate change convention” at his Sunshine Coast resort, but would not reveal who would attend.]

    It doesn’t clearly say if the attendees are pro or against climate change.

  26. “@CliveFPalmer: Seems @rupertmurdoch could have a new Australian newspaper competitor as I’ve registered the trademark Australasian Times #yesrupert #media”

  27. Well that’s just wrong!

    AFL is most definitely NOT easily the most watched sport in Australia.

    What a silly comment!

    Clue:-

    There is actually a reason another footy code is allocated Fox Sports 1. on its nationally broadcast PAY TV service 😯

  29. Further point of order – It’s actually ‘Australian Rules Football’.

    Why the football, I don’t know. They could play it to music.

  35. I confess to so far being a “big fan” of the Fat One.

    However, note to Clive:

    It’s not about the cost to patients of the GP tax. It’s about the beginning of a two tier medical system and the end of the universal Medicare.

  38. The AFL players could use a wand, seriously. They can throw it between the posts, and if they miss…they can still get a point for having a go 😀

  46. centre AFL has it’s own pay tv channel – something that the bumsniffers aren’t big enough to have.

    Also AFL has higher crowds, more members and the highest rating event every year.

    Knock yourself out. :-!

  49. Centre
    Aussie Rules is an insular sporting code. People enter a closed circle and never get out. Other codes offer a chance to expand followers experiences and knowledge in wider, more international areas.

    The AF code encourages this circling of the wagons, and consider all other codes to be a threat. The other codes look at the AFL as a quaint local game. 👿

  50. Here comes wonderwoman …

    __________________
    _+Murdoch’s
    team” seem to be pushing Julie Bishop as fast as they can

    In Yesterday Melb -Hun they had a graphic story opf a great woman warrior,feisty.glamourous,clever,and very tough …fronting up to the dreaded Putin to defend us all from the worst leader since Genghis Khan ..so sleep easy..Putin won’t ber banging on your door tonight !!

    what a woman !!
    (amd what is Murdoch up too…has he given Abbott and Hockey away..in favour of WONDERWOMAN ???

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