Hornsby
Margin: Liberal 26.5%
Region: Northern Sydney
Federal: Berowra (81%)/Bradfield (19%)
Candidates in ballot paper order
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STEVE ACKERMAN MATT KEAN JOHN STOREY MARY DI COSMO MICK GALLAGHER LEIGHTON THEW |
2011 BOOTH RESULTS MAP |
PAST RESULTS
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DEMOGRAPHICS |
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Two-party preferred booth results from 2011 state election showing Liberal majority in blue 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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Located in Sydney’s outer northern suburbs, the safe Liberal electorate of Hornsby extends from Hornsby itself north along the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway through Mt Ku-ring-gai and Berowra. The redistribution has made changes to its southern boundary with Epping which add Pennant Hills and surrounding areas while removing parts of Cherrybrook and Dural immediately to the west, affecting around 8500 voters either way, and a further 2000 voters have been gained through adjustments to the western boundary with Hawkesbury. The changes have cut 0.6% from the still substantial Liberal margin.
Hornsby has been in conservative hands since its creation in 1927, although it was abolished between the redistributions of 1991 and 1999. When recreated it absorbed most of the voters from a dramatically redrawn Ku-ring-gai, causing Liberal member Ku-ring-gai to switch from that electorate to Hornsby. O’Doherty was succeeded at a by-election held upon his mid-term retirement in 2002 by Judy Hopwood, who held the seat until the 2011 election. Hopwood had come to be associated with the party’s moderate faction, and it was reported in the lead-up to the 2007 election that she might fall victim to the purge being pursued by an ascendant Right. These events appeared to provoke a sharp response in the local community, and two rivals to her position, Hornsby mayor Nick Berman and councillor Steve Russell, had to be persuaded to withdraw.
When Hopwood announced she would not seek another term in mid-2010, Berman and Russell again emerged as candidates, respectively enjoying the support of the rival David Clarke and Alex Hawke factions of the Right. However, the moderates were able to keep the seat in the factional camp by securing preselection for Matthew Kean, chartered accountant and vice-president of the Young Liberals. Berman made a late withdrawal from the race and announced he would run as an independent, complaining of “faction fighting”, and Kean comfortably prevailed over Russell in the ensuing preselection ballot. Kean polled 49.4% of the primary vote and went on to win a 12.1% margin at the final count over second-placed Berman, who scored a primary vote of 22.1%.