Cootamundra
Margin: Nationals 30.3%
Region: Regional Western
Federal: Hume (56%)/Riverina (44%)
New electorate created in place of Burrinjuck
Candidates in ballot paper order
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ELIO CACCIOTTI ROD THERKELSEN CHARLIE SHEAHAN KATRINA HODGKINSON PHILIP LANGFIELD |
2011 BOOTH RESULTS MAP |
PAST RESULTS (BURRINJUCK) |
DEMOGRAPHICS |
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Two-party preferred booth results from 2011 state election showing Nationals majority in green and Labor in red. New boundaries in thicker blue lines, old ones in thinner red lines. Boundary data courtesy of Ben Raue of The Tally Room.
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Cootamundra is a new seat created from the remains of two abolished Nationals strongholds, Burrinjuck and Murrumbidgee, the former providing the western half and the latter the east. Though the area provided by Murrumbidgee is the greater, the east of the electorate contains the major population centres, including Cowra in the north, Young in the centre and Cootamundra itself in the south. Burrinjuck and Murrumbidgee respectively provide the new seat with approximately 32,500 and 19,500 voters, with the greater part of Murrumbidgee’s voters going to Murray.
Burrinjuck was held by Labor from its creation in 1950 until 1988, and Labor was likewise long competitive in Murrumbidgee, which was in Labor hands as late as 1984, and was held for them by future Whitlam government minister Al Grassby from 1965 to 1969. The turning point in Burrinjuck came when it was won for the Liberals in 1988 by Alby Schultz, who went on to enter federal politics as the member for Hume in 1998. The seat remained vacant until the state election the following at March, at which it was contested for the Liberals by Alby Schultz’s wife, Gloria Schultz. However, Schultz finished in third place and the seat was won for the Nationals by Katrina Hodgkinson with a margin over Labor of 1.2%.
Katrina Hodgkinson was promoted to the front bench after the 2003 election, and has served since the 2011 election victory as Primary Industries Minister. She further held the small business portfolio until the reshuffle that followed Barry O’Farrell’s departure in April 2014, when it was exchanged for the position of Assistant Minister for Tourism and Major Events. When the redistribution was finalised, Hodgkinson declared herself intent on challenging senior Liberal front-bencher Pru Goward in Goulburn further to the east, but she was prevailed upon by Barry O’Farrell to stay nearer her existing base by contesting Cootamundra.
Corrections, complaints and feedback to William Bowe at pollbludger-at-bigpond-dot-com. Read William’s blog, The Poll Bludger.
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