| Forde Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
Map Interactive map of boundaries | |
| Created | 1984 |
| MP | Bert van Manen |
| Party | Liberal National |
| Namesake | Frank Forde |
| Electors | 119,198 (2022) |
| Area | 418 km2 (161.4 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Provincial |
The Division of Forde is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland.
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]
The division was created in 1984 and is named after Frank Forde, who was Prime Minister of Australia for seven days in 1945 following the death of John Curtin. When it was created it was a marginal seat in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, but it now has no territory in common with the original seat and is located in exurban and semi-rural areas south of the city, including Beenleigh and Loganlea.
It was a fairly safe seat for the Liberal Party after the 2004 election. Kay Elson announced that she would not re-contest her seat in the 2007 election. Wendy Creighton, a Boonah resident and editor of the local newspaper, the Fassifern Guardian, contested Forde as the Liberal candidate instead. She was defeated at the Federal election by Brett Raguse, the opposing Labor Party candidate, making Forde the safest Liberal Party seat to be claimed by the Labor Party at the 2007 election. The seat returned to the LNP with Bert van Manen in 2010. Incumbent van Manen then held on to the seat during the 2013, 2016 & 2019 elections.
Ahead of the 2016 federal election, ABC psephologist Antony Green listed the seat in his election guide as one of eleven which he classed as bellwether electorates.[2] Roy Morgan Research found the Division of Forde to be the least politically involved electorate in Australia, with only 7% of voters interested in political analysis as a type of media content.[3]
| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
David Watson (1945–) |
Liberal | 1 December 1984 – 11 July 1987 |
Lost seat. Later elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland seat of Moggill in 1989 | |
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|
Mary Crawford (1947–) |
Labor | 11 July 1987 – 2 March 1996 |
Lost seat | |
|
|
Kay Elson (1947–) |
Liberal | 2 March 1996 – 17 October 2007 |
Retired | |
|
Brett Raguse (1960–) |
Labor | 24 November 2007 – 21 August 2010 |
Lost seat | |
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|
Bert van Manen (1965–) |
Liberal National | 21 August 2010 – present |
Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Morrison. Incumbent. Currently serving as the Chief Opposition Whip in the House |
|
Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Forde |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal National | Bert van Manen | 34,920 | 36.91 | −6.59 | |
| Labor | Rowan Holzberger | 26,497 | 28.01 | −1.50 | |
| Greens | Jordan Hall | 9,319 | 9.85 | +1.12 | |
| One Nation | Seschelle Matterson | 7,578 | 8.01 | −3.80 | |
| United Australia | Roxanne O'Halloran | 7,485 | 7.91 | +3.87 | |
| Independent | Christopher Greaves | 2,973 | 3.14 | +3.14 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Tobby Sutherland | 2,668 | 2.82 | +2.82 | |
| Animal Justice | Linda McCarthy | 2,444 | 2.58 | +2.58 | |
| TNL | Samuel Holland | 728 | 0.77 | +0.77 | |
| Total formal votes | 94,612 | 93.22 | −2.14 | ||
| Informal votes | 6,884 | 6.78 | +2.14 | ||
| Turnout | 101,496 | 85.23 | −4.26 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Liberal National | Bert van Manen | 51,311 | 54.23 | −4.37 | |
| Labor | Rowan Holzberger | 43,301 | 45.77 | +4.37 | |
| Liberal National hold | Swing | −4.37 | |||
