Electoral district of Kew

Kew Victoria—Legislative Assembly
State	Victoria
Created	1927
MP	Jess Wilson
Party	Liberal
Namesake	Suburb of Kew
Electors	49,918 (2022)[1]
Area	31.07 km^2 (12.0 sq mi)
Demographic	Metropolitan
Electorates around Kew: Northcote Ivanhoe Bulleen Richmond Kew Box Hill Richmond Hawthorn Box Hill

The electoral district of Kew is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Located in eastern Melbourne, a few kilometres from the city centre, it is centred on the suburbs of Kew and Kew East. It also contains Balwyn, Balwyn North, Deepdene, and parts of Canterbury, Mont Albert, and Surrey Hills.

The current member for Kew is Jess Wilson.

Geography

Kew from its northern boundary.

The boundaries of the Victorian electoral districts and regions, including Kew, are determined by the independent and impartial Electoral Boundaries Commission. Redivisions typically occur when there have been two state elections since the last redivision.[2]

As of the 2022 Victorian state election, Kew follows the Yarra River along the north and west, follows Winfield Rd, Evelina St, Kerry Pde, Barloa Rd, and York St on the east, and follows Mont Albert Rd and Barkers Rd with the boundary extending down into Canterbury Rd between Balwyn Rd and Burke Rd on the south.[3]

In the boundary redistribution for the 2022 Victorian state election, Kew gained 6,514 voters from the Box Hill district.[1]

The seat is located almost entirely within the federal seat of Kooyong.

Demography

As per the 2021 census data, the district of Kew encompasses 64,029 people (not all being registered voters) and 26,076 private dwellings. 50% of residents in the district have attained a bachelor's degree or above, which is 20 points higher than the state average. 43% of residents stated they weren't religious, 21% of residents identified as catholic, 7% of residents identified as Anglican, and 6% of residents identified as Eastern Orthodox.[4]

96% of residents in the district of Kew that are in the labour force are employed. The median weekly personal income of residents is $991 ($188 higher that the state median), the median weekly household income of residents is $3,010 ($874 higher that the state median).[4]

60% of residents in the district of Kew were born in Australia and 11% of residents were born in China. 24% of residents stated they have Chinese ancestry, 24% of residents stated they have English ancestry, and 20% of residents stated they had Australian ancestry. 62% of residents have had at least one of their parents born overseas.[4]

History

See also: Kew, Victoria § History

The seat was created in 1927 and has generally been a safe seat for the Liberal Party and its predecessors. The most notable former member is Dick Hamer, who was Premier of Victoria from 1972 until 1981. From 1927 to 1981, it was held by only three members, all of whom eventually became Deputy Premiers—Wilfrid Kent Hughes, Arthur Rylah and Hamer.^[citation needed]

In 1851, Nicholas Fenwick purchased 122 acres (Lot 87)[5] for four pounds and six shillings per acre and named the allotment Kew. In naming Kew, he is believed to have said "Kew in England is near Richmond, this place is near Richmond, why not call it Kew?".[6]

Members for Kew

Image		Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Wilfrid Kent Hughes (1895–1970)	Nationalist	9 April 1927 – 1931	Served as minister under McPherson and Argyle. Served as Deputy Premier under Argyle and Hollway. Retired. Later held the federal seat of Chisholm and served as minister under Menzies[7]
			United Australia	15 September 1931 – 5 March 1945
			Liberal	5 March 1945 – 22 March 1949
			Liberal and Country	22 March 1949 – 31 October 1949
		Arthur Rylah (1909–1974)	Liberal and Country	17 December 1949 – 1964	Served as Deputy Premier under Bolte. Retired[8]
			Liberal	1964 – 5 March 1971
		Dick Hamer (1916–2004)	Liberal	17 April 1971 – 17 July 1981	Previously a member of the Victorian Legislative Council. Served as minister under Bolte. Served as Premier from 1972 to 1981. Retired[9]
		Prue Sibree (1946–)	Liberal	15 August 1981 – 19 March 1988	Retired[10]
		Jan Wade (1937–)	Liberal	19 March 1988 – 17 September 1999	Served as minister under Kennett. Retired[11]
		Andrew McIntosh (1955–)	Liberal	18 September 1999 – 29 November 2014	Served as minister under Baillieu and Napthine. Resigned[12]
		Tim Smith (1983–)	Liberal	29 November 2014 – 26 November 2022	Retired[13]
		Jess Wilson (1990–)	Liberal	26 November 2022 – present	Incumbent

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Kew

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2022 Victorian state election (Legislative Assembly) § Kew.[edit]

2022 Victorian state election: Kew[14][15][16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jess Wilson	19,321	44.3	−5.0
	Labor	Lucy Skelton	9,896	22.7	−8.8
	Independent	Sophie Torney	9,200	21.1	+21.1
	Greens	Jackie Carter	3,612	8.3	−6.9
	Family First	Ann Seeley	751	1.7	+1.7
	Animal Justice	Ruby Schofield	507	1.2	−0.9
	Independent	Finlay Davis	158	0.4	+0.4
	Independent	Kym Sullivan	147	0.3	+0.3
Total formal votes			43,592	97.0	+1.1
Informal votes			1,367	3.0	−1.1
Turnout			44,959	90.1	−2.3
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Jess Wilson	23,529	54.0	−0.7
	Labor	Lucy Skelton	20,063	46.0	+0.7
	Liberal hold		Swing	–0.7

See also

• 1971 Kew state by-election

References

1. "Kew District results". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
2. "State boundary reviews". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
3. "Electoral District Kew" (PDF). Electoral Boundaries Commission. October 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
4. "Kew (Southern Metropolitan) - 2021 Census All persons QuickStats". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
5. "Our Story". Kew Primary School. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
6. Barnard, Francis George Allman (1910). The Jubilee History of Kew, Victoria : Its Origin and Progress. E.F.G. Hodges "Mercury" Office. p. 10. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
7. "Sir Wilfrid Selwyn Kent Hughes". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. 28 August 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023.
8. "Sir Arthur Gordon Rylah (CBE KMG)". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. 28 August 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023.
9. "Sir Rupert James Hamer (KCMG)". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. 28 August 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023.
10. "Prudence Anne Sibree". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023.
11. "Jan Louise Murray Wade". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. 20 November 2018. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023.
12. "Andrew McIntosh". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. 20 November 2018. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023.
13. "Mr Timothy Colin Smith". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. 14 December 2022. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023.
14. Green, Antony (11 January 2023). "VIC22 – 2-Party Preferred Results and Swings by District". Antony Green's Election Blog. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
15. VIC 2021 Final Redistribution, ABC News. [Retrieved 1 January 2023.
16. "Kew District results". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 1 December 2022.

External links

• Electorate profile: Kew District, Victorian Electoral Commission