Calare Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Calare in New South Wales, as of the 2016 federal election
Created	1906
MP	Andrew Gee
Party	Independent
Namesake	Wiradjuri name for the Lachlan River
Electors	121,564 (2022)
Area	32,666 km2 (12,612.4 sq mi)
Demographic	Rural and provincial

The Division of Calare (/kəˈlɑːri, kəˈlɛər/) is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.

Geography

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.^[1]

History

The division was first contested at the 1906 election; created to replace the abolished Division of Canobolas, and is named for the local Aboriginal name for the Lachlan River, which runs through the western part of the division. The Aboriginal name is pronounced Kal-ah-ree, but the pronunciation Kul-air is established for the division.

The division originally encompassed Forbes, Orange and Parkes. Subsequent boundary changes moved it eastwards to encompass Bathurst, Lithgow and Oberon. On these boundaries it was notionally a marginal seat between the Australian Labor Party (which held it 1983–96) and the National Party, but it was held comfortably by an independent, Peter Andren, from 1996 to 2007. Andren was not a candidate for the 2007 election: he intended to run for a Senate seat but was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and died during the election campaign.^[2]

A redistribution in 2006 moved the boundaries west to take in Cowra, Grenfell and the vast north-west of New South Wales from Brewarrina to Menindee, making Calare New South Wales's largest electorate. Lithgow, Bathurst and Oberon, which tend to favour Labor, were transferred to the neighbouring seat of Macquarie. At the 2007 federal election, Calare was won by the Nationals' representative John Cobb on a margin of 12.1 percent.^[3] Cobb had previously represented the Division of Parkes, parts of which were redistributed into Calare in 2006.

The 2009 redistribution of NSW moved the boundaries back east, to again include Lithgow, Bathurst and Oberon. Most of the northwestern area of the division was transferred to the neighbouring Division of Parkes.^[4] The changes took effect at the 2010 election.

The division currently stretches from Mudgee, Gulgong, Dubbo, Wellington in the north-west, to Orange, Bathurst, Lithgow and Oberon in the south-east and Canowindra in the south-west.

The current Member for Calare, since the 2016 federal election, is Andrew Gee, an Independent member who was originally elected as a member of the National Party.

Members

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Thomas Brown (1861–1934)	Labor	12 December 1906 – 31 May 1913	Previously held the Division of Canobolas. Lost seat. Later elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Lachlan in 1913
		Henry Pigott (1866–1949)	Commonwealth Liberal	31 May 1913 – 17 February 1917	Lost seat
			Nationalist	17 February 1917 – 13 December 1919
		Thomas Lavelle (1887–1944)	Labor	13 December 1919 – 16 December 1922	Lost seat
		Sir Neville Howse (1863–1930)	Nationalist	16 December 1922 – 12 October 1929	Served as minister under Bruce. Lost seat. Son was John Howse
		George Gibbons (1887–1954)	Labor	12 October 1929 – 19 December 1931	Lost seat
		Harold Thorby (1888–1973)	Country	19 December 1931 – 21 September 1940	Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Castlereagh. Served as minister under Lyons, Page and Menzies. Lost seat
		John Breen (1898–1966)	Labor	21 September 1940 – 28 September 1946	Lost seat
		John Howse (1913–2002)	Liberal	28 September 1946 – 28 September 1960	Resigned to retire from politics. Father was Sir Neville Howse
		John England (1911–1985)	Country	5 November 1960 – 2 May 1975	Retired
			National Country	2 May 1975 – 11 November 1975
		Sandy Mackenzie (1941–)	National Country	13 December 1975 – 16 October 1982	Lost seat
			Nationals	16 October 1982 – 5 March 1983
		David Simmons (1947–)	Labor	5 March 1983 – 29 January 1996	Served as minister under Hawke and Keating. Retired
		Peter Andren (1946–2007)	Independent	2 March 1996 – 17 October 2007	Retired
		John Cobb (1950–)	Nationals	24 November 2007 – 9 May 2016	Previously held the Division of Parkes. Retired
		Andrew Gee (1968–)	Nationals	2 July 2016 – 23 December 2022	Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Orange. Served as minister under Morrison. Incumbent
			Independent	23 December 2022 – present

Election results