Balmain
New South Wales—Legislative Assembly
Map
Interactive map of district boundaries from the 2023 state election
StateNew South Wales
Created1885, 2007
Abolished1894, 1991
MPKobi Shetty
PartyGreens
NamesakeBalmain, New South Wales
Electors58,785 (2023)
Area16.14 km2 (6.2 sq mi)
DemographicInner metropolitan
Electorates around Balmain:
Drummoyne Lane Cove North Shore
Drummoyne
Summer Hill		 Balmain Sydney
Summer Hill Newtown Newtown

Balmain is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian state of New South Wales in Sydney's Inner West. It is currently represented by Kobi Shetty of the Greens New South Wales.

Balmain includes the suburbs and localities of Annandale, Balmain, Balmain East, Birchgrove, Forest Lodge, Glebe, Glebe Island, Leichhardt, Lilyfield, Rozelle, White Bay and parts of Camperdown and Ultimo.[1]

History

Balmain was established in 1880 and from 1882, it elected two members, from 1885 it elected three members and from 1889 until 1894 it elected four members simultaneously. Voters cast a vote for each vacancy and the leading candidates were elected. In 1894 it was split into Balmain North, Balmain South, Annandale and Leichhardt, each electing one member. In 1904 with the downsizing of the Assembly after Federation, Balmain North and part of Balmain South were combined into a single electorate, electing one member. In 1920, parts of the electoral districts of Balmain, Annandale, Camperdown, Darling Harbour, Glebe and Rozelle were combined to create a new incarnation of Balmain, which elected five members by proportional representation. This was replaced by single member electorates of Balmain, Annandale, Glebe and Rozelle for the 1927 election. Balmain was abolished in 1991, being replaced by Port Jackson. It was recreated for the 2007 election, taking in large parts of the abolished district of Port Jackson (the Sydney CBD and Pyrmont, which were previously in Port Jackson, became part of the new Electoral district of Sydney).

Historically, Balmain has been a working-class seat and very safe for Labor—at the 1978 election, Labor won an 84.2 percent two-party vote. However, as with several inner-city seats, demographic change and the rise of the Greens has seen a strong Green vote in Balmain since the party first contested the seat from the seat's recreation at the 2007 election. Following the 2019 election, it is considered a safe Greens seat.[2][3][4][5]

Matthews' ALP supporters. Photograph by Sam Hood taken about 1934

Following the 2023 New South Wales state election, the seat became a marginal Greens seat following the retirement of Jamie Parker.

Members for Balmain

First incarnation (1880–1894)
1880–1882, 1 member
Member Party Term
  Jacob Garrard [6] None 1880–1882
1882–1885, 2 members
Member Party Term Member Party Term
  Jacob Garrard [6] None 1882–1885   William Hutchinson [7] None 1882–1885
1885–1889, 3 members
Member Party Term Member Party Term Member Party Term
  Jacob Garrard [6] None 1885–1887   Solomon Hyam [8] None 1885–1887   John Hawthorne [9] None 1885–1887
  Free Trade 1887–1889   Frank Smith [10] Free Trade 1887–1889   Free Trade 1887–1889
1889–1894, 4 members
Member Party Term Member Party Term Member Party Term Member Party Term
  Jacob Garrard [6] Free Trade 1889–1891   Frank Smith [10] Free Trade 1889–1891   John Hawthorne [9] Free Trade 1889–1891   George Clubb [11] Free Trade 1889–1891
  George Clark [12] Labour 1891–1891   Edward Darnley [13] Labour 1891–1894   James Johnston [14] Labour 1891–1894   William Murphy [15] Labour 1891–1894
  Free Trade 1891–1894
 
Second incarnation (1904–1991)
1904–1920, 1 member
Member Party Term
  Walter Anderson [16] Liberal Reform 1904–1907
  John Storey [17] Labour 1907–1920
1920–1927, 5 members
Member Party Term Member Party Term Member Party Term Member Party Term Member Party Term
  John Storey [17] Labor 1920–1921   John Doyle [18] Labor 1920–1922   Robert Stuart-Robertson [19] Labor 1920–1927   John Quirk [20] Labor 1920–1927   Albert Smith [21] Nationalist 1920–1922
  Tom Keegan [22] Labor 1921 [a]–1927
  Robert Stopford [25] Nationalist 1922–1925   Albert Lane [26] Nationalist 1922–1927
  H. V. Evatt [27] Labor 1925–1927
1927–1991, 1 member
Member Party Term
  H. V. Evatt [27] Independent Labor 1927–1930
  John Quirk [20] Labor 1930–1938
  Mary Quirk [28] Labor 1939–1940
  Labor (N-C) 1940–1941
  Labor 1941–1950
  Independent Labor 1950–1950
  John McMahon [29] Labor 1950–1968
  Roger Degen [30] Labor 1968–1984
  Peter Crawford [31] Labor 1984–1988
  Dawn Fraser [32] Independent 1988–1991
 
Third incarnation (2007–present, 1 member)
Member Party Term
  Verity Firth [33] Labor 2007–2011
  Jamie Parker [34] Greens 2011–2023
  Kobi Shetty  Greens 2023–present

Election results

See also: Electoral results for the district of Balmain
2023 New South Wales state election: Balmain[35][36][37]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Greens Kobi Shetty 20,240 40.48 −2.25
Labor Philippa Scott 18,555 37.11 +8.25
Liberal Freya Leach 9,566 19.13 −0.90
Sustainable Australia Stephen Bisgrove 1,189 2.38 +0.84
Public Education Glen Stelzer 447 0.89 +0.89
Total formal votes 49,997 98.39 −0.05
Informal votes 820 1.61 +0.05
Turnout 50,817 86.45 −0.28
Notional two-party-preferred count
Labor Philippa Scott 32,752 74.50 +4.05
Liberal Freya Leach 11,208 25.50 −4.05
Two-candidate-preferred result
Greens Kobi Shetty 22,118 51.80 −8.22
Labor Philippa Scott 20,580 48.20 +8.22
Greens hold Swing −8.22

Notes

  1. ^ John Storey died and Tom Keegan was appointed to replace him in accordance with the Parliamentary Elections (Casual Vacancies) Act.[23][24]

References

  1. ^ "Balmain". New South Wales Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  2. ^ Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Balmain". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Balmain – NSW Electorate, Candidates, Results". NSW Votes 2019. ABC News. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Part 5B alphabetical list of all electorates and Members since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Former Members". Members of Parliament. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "Mr Jacob Garrard (1846–1931)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Mr William Alston Hutchinson (1839–1897)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Mr Solomon Herbert Hyam (1837–1901)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Mr John Stuart Hawthorne (1848–1942)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Mr Frank James Smith (1852–1910)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Mr George Clubb (1844–1924)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Mr George Daniel Clark (1848–1933)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Mr Edward Darnley (1859–1927)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Mr James Johnston (1854–1930)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  15. ^ "Mr William Alfred Murphy (1858—1929)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Mr Walter Anderson (1865–1939)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Mr John Storey (1869–1921)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Mr John William Doyle (1875–1951)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  19. ^ "Mr Robert Stuart-Robertson (1874–1933)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Mr John Quirk (1870–1938)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  21. ^ "Mr Albert Frank Smith (1885–1975)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Mr Thomas Michael Keegan (1878–1937)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  23. ^ Parliamentary Elections (Casual Vacancies) Act 1920 (NSW).
  24. ^ Green, Antony. "1921 Balmain by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  25. ^ "Mr Robert Stopford (1862–1926)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  26. ^ "Mr Albert Lane (1873–1950)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Mr Herbert Vere Evatt (1894-1965)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  28. ^ "Mrs Mary Lily May Quirk (1880–1952)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  29. ^ "The Hon John Michael Alfred McMahon (1914–1975)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  30. ^ "Mr Roger Charles Degen (1939– )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  31. ^ "Mr Peter Thomson Crawford (1949–)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  32. ^ "Ms Dawn Fraser (1937– )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  33. ^ "The Hon. Verity Helen Firth (1973– )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  34. ^ "Mr Jamie Thomas Jamie Parker MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  35. ^ LA First Preference: Balmain, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  36. ^ LA Two Candidate Preferred: Balmain, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  37. ^ Two Candidate Preferred (TCP) Analytical Tool: Balmain, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
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