| Lowe Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
 Division of Lowe (green) in New South Wales prior to abolition | |
| Created | 1949 |
| Abolished | 2010 |
| Namesake | Robert Lowe |
| Electors | 87,153 |
| Area | 39 km2 (15.1 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Inner metropolitan |
The Division of Lowe was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was located in the inner western suburbs of Sydney, on the south shore of the Parramatta River. It included the suburbs of Drummoyne, Five Dock, Croydon, Croydon Park, Burwood, Enfield, Homebush, Strathfield, Concord, Rhodes, Canada Bay, Cabarita, Abbotsford and Mortlake.
The division was named after the Rt Hon Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke, a former Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, and former Home Secretary of the United Kingdom. The division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 federal election. It was first held by Sir William McMahon, who retained the seat for over 32 years, until 1982. He was prime minister from 1971 to 1972.
Following the 2009 redistribution of NSW, the seat of Lowe was abolished for the 2010 Australian federal election. Most of the area of Lowe, together with a small part of the seat of Reid to its west, were reconstituted as the new Reid.[1][2]
| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(Sir) William McMahon (1908–1988) |
Liberal | 10 December 1949 – 4 January 1982 |
Served as minister under Menzies, Holt, McEwen and Gorton. Served as Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972. Resigned to retire from politics | |
|
Michael Maher (1936–2013) |
Labor | 13 March 1982 – 11 July 1987 |
Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Drummoyne. Lost seat | |
|
|
Dr Bob Woods (1947–) |
Liberal | 11 July 1987 – 13 March 1993 |
Lost seat. Later appointed to the Senate in 1994 | |
|
|
Mary Easson (1955–) |
Labor | 13 March 1993 – 2 March 1996 |
Lost seat | |
|
|
Paul Zammit (1941–) |
Liberal | 2 March 1996 – February 1998 |
Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Strathfield. Lost seat | |
| Independent | February 1998 – 3 October 1998 | ||||
|
John Murphy (1950–) |
Labor | 3 October 1998 – 21 August 2010 |
Transferred to the Division of Reid after Lowe was abolished in 2010 |
|
Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Lowe |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | John Murphy | 38,766 | 49.27 | +6.23 | |
| Liberal | Jim Tsolakis | 31,518 | 40.06 | -2.90 | |
| Greens | Marc Rerceretnam | 6,774 | 8.61 | -0.07 | |
| Christian Democrats | Bill Shailer | 1,616 | 2.05 | +0.04 | |
| Total formal votes | 78,674 | 95.05 | +1.65 | ||
| Informal votes | 4,098 | 4.95 | -1.65 | ||
| Turnout | 82,772 | 94.97 | +1.56 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | John Murphy | 45,136 | 57.37 | +4.34 | |
| Liberal | Jim Tsolakis | 33,538 | 42.63 | -4.34 | |
| Labor hold | Swing | +4.34 | |||