Division of Menzies

Menzies
Australian House of Representatives Division
Menzies; Australian House of Representatives Division
	Division of Menzies in Victoria, as of the 2022 federal election
Created	1984
MP	Keith Wolahan
Party	Liberal
Namesake	Sir Robert Menzies
Electors	112,876 (2022)
Area	137 km2 (52.9 sq mi)
Demographic	Outer metropolitan

The Division of Menzies is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria.

History

Sir Robert Menzies, the division's namesake

The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 14 September 1984, and was first contested at the 1984 election. The division replaced the eastern half of the abolished Division of Diamond Valley, with the western half becoming the Division of Jagajaga. The division was named after Sir Robert Menzies, the longest serving Prime Minister of Australia, who represented the neighbouring division of Kooyong during his time in office.

The Division had always been a safe Liberal seat until the 2022 Australian federal election, with the Liberal Party nearly losing the seat for the first time in its history which was attributed to backlash against the Morrison Government by Chinese Australians.^[1] It was first held by Neil Brown, a former minister who served in the Fraser government and who also served as deputy Liberal leader under John Howard from 1985 to 1987. Brown retired in 1991 and was replaced by Kevin Andrews, who held the seat from 1991 to 2022. Andrews was the Father of the House, with the longest continuous tenure of any then current MHR—although Warren Snowdon and Russell Broadbent were first elected earlier.

Boundaries

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.^[2]

The division is located in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It is bordered by Koonung Creek to the south, and until redistribution in 2018 was also bordered by the Yarra River to the north. It covers the suburbs of Bulleen, Croydon Hills, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Donvale, Park Orchards, Templestowe, Templestowe Lower, North Warrandyte, Warrandyte and Warrandyte South. Additionally, parts of Box Hill, Blackburn, Mitcham, Ringwood North, Warranwood, Wonga Park and Eltham fall under the Division.^[3]

Demographics

The Division of Menzies has a diverse population, with around 45% of its residents being born overseas. Half of the population speak a language other than English at home, with Chinese Australians making around 27% of the population.^[4] The seat has the third largest Chinese community of any electorate in all of Australia and the second largest in Victoria after neighbouring Chisholm.

Members

Member	Party	Term	Notes
Neil Brown (1940–)	Liberal	1 December 1984 – 25 February 1991	Previously held the Division of Diamond Valley. Resigned to retire from politics
Kevin Andrews (1955–)		11 May 1991 – 11 April 2022	Served as minister under Howard and Abbott. Lost preselection and retired
Keith Wolahan (1977–)		21 May 2022 – present	Incumbent

Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Menzies^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Keith Wolahan	42,526	42.10	−8.77
	Labor	Naomi Oakley	33,635	33.30	+2.77
	Greens	Bill Pheasant	14,289	14.14	+4.01
	Liberal Democrats	Greg Cheesman	3,646	3.61	+3.61
	United Australia	Nathan Scaglione	3,643	3.61	+1.19
	One Nation	John Hayes	2,312	2.29	+2.29
	Federation	Sanjeev Sabhlok	968	0.96	+0.96
Total formal votes			101,019	96.79	+0.42
Informal votes			3,355	3.21	−0.42
Turnout			104,374	92.58	−2.65
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Keith Wolahan	51,198	50.68	−6.34
	Labor	Naomi Oakley	49,821	49.32	+6.34
	Liberal hold		Swing	−6.34

Primary vote results in Menzies (Parties that did not get 5% of the vote are omitted)

Liberal

Labor

Greens

Australian Democrats

Australians Against Further Immigration

Independent

Two-candidate-preferred vote results in Menzies

References

^ Anthony, Galloway. "Inside the Liberal Party's debate on how to win back Chinese-Australians and teal voters". www.smh.com.au/. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
^ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
^ "Menzies - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au.
^ "2021 Menzies, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
^ Menzies, VIC, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.

External links

Division of Menzies - Australian Electoral Commission

37°45′47″S 145°11′28″E / 37.763°S 145.191°E / -37.763; 145.191

[1] Anthony, Galloway. "Inside the Liberal Party's debate on how to win back Chinese-Australians and teal voters". www.smh.com.au/. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 January 2024.

[2] Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.

[3] "Menzies - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au.

[4] "2021 Menzies, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2024.

[5] Menzies, VIC, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]