Electoral district of Wakehurst

Wakehurst
New South Wales—Legislative Assembly
Map
Interactive map of district boundaries from the 2023 state election
StateNew South Wales
Created1962
MPMichael Regan
PartyIndependent
NamesakeJohn Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst
Electors58,085 (2023)
DemographicUrban
Electorates around Wakehurst:
Pittwater Pittwater Pacific Ocean
Davidson Wakehurst Pacific Ocean
Willoughby Manly Manly

The Electoral district of Wakehurst is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It covers a significant part of Sydney's Northern Beaches as well as parts of the Forest District. Created in 1962, it has been won by the Liberal Party at all but three elections over the last half-century.

History

The seat of Wakehurst was created in the August 1961 electoral redistribution, with its territory drawn partly from the seats of Manly and Collaroy.[1][2] First contested at the 1962 state election, Wakehurst was named in honour of the popular long-serving Governor of New South Wales from 1937 to 1946, Lord Wakehurst. It was held by the Liberal Party from its creation until the 1978 election, when it was won by the Labor Party as part of the first Wranslide. Although the seat is historically Liberal, Labor held the seat until the 1984 election, when the Liberals retook the seat.[3]

The seat was first won in 1962 by Dick Healey of the Liberal Party. He moved to the new seat of Davidson in 1971. He served as a minister in the Coalition state government from 1973 to 1976, and retired in 1981. Wakehurst was won in 1971 by Allan Viney. He held the seat until his defeat in 1978 by the ALP's Tom Webster. Webster was re-elected at the 1981 election but was defeated in 1984 by Liberal candidate John Booth. Booth held the seat until 1991, when he lost preselection to Brad Hazzard.[3] Hazzard joined the Coalition shadow frontbench after the 1995 election, and served as a minister in the O'Farrell, Baird, Berejiklian and Perrottet governments.

Hazzard retired at the 2023 NSW election, when the Mayor of Northern Beaches Council, Michael Regan, won the seat as an independent candidate.[4]

Geography

On its current boundaries, Wakehurst takes in the suburbs of Allambie, Allambie Heights, Bantry Bay, Beacon Hill, Collaroy, Collaroy Plateau, Cromer, Forestville, Killarney Heights, Narraweena, Oxford Falls and parts of Belrose, Brookvale, Dee Why and Frenchs Forest.

Members for Wakehurst

Member Party Period
  Dick Healey [5] Liberal 1962–1971
  Allan Viney [6] Liberal 1971–1978
  Tom Webster [7] Labor 1978–1984
  John Booth [8] Liberal 1984–1991
  Brad Hazzard [9] Liberal 1991–2023
  Michael Regan[4] Independent 2023–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Wakehurst
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2023 New South Wales state election (Legislative Assembly) § Wakehurst.[edit]
2023 New South Wales state election: Wakehurst[10][11][12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Toby Williams 18,940 36.9 −23.0
Independent Michael Regan 18,430 35.9 +35.9
Labor Sue Wright 7,617 14.8 −2.1
Greens Ethan Hrnjak 4,000 7.8 −2.4
Animal Justice Susan Sorensen 1,220 2.4 −0.8
Sustainable Australia Greg Mawson 1,127 2.2 −0.7
Total formal votes 51,334 97.4 +0.3
Informal votes 1,353 2.6 −0.3
Turnout 52,687 90.7 +2.1
Notional two-party-preferred count
Liberal Toby Williams 23,685 59.6 −12.3
Labor Sue Wright 16,054 40.4 +12.3
Two-candidate-preferred result
Independent Michael Regan 24,589 54.5 +54.5
Liberal Toby Williams 20,555 45.5 −26.4
Independent gain from Liberal  

References

  1. ^ "Atlas of NSW – 1957 Redistribution". NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Atlas of NSW – 1961 Redistribution". NSW Land & Property Information. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b Green, Antony. "Elections for the District of Wakehurst". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Wakehurst – NSW Electorate, Candidates, Results". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  5. ^ "The Hon. Richard Owen Healey (1923–2000)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Mr Arthur Edward Allanby Viney (1919-2008)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Mr Thomas Stephen Webster (1950- )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Mr John David Booth (1950-2011)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Mr (Brad) Bradley Ronald Hazzard". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  10. ^ LA First Preference: Wakehurst, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  11. ^ LA Two Candidate Preferred: Wakehurst, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  12. ^ Two Candidate Preferred (TCP) Analytical Tool: Summer Hill, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  13. ^ Green, Antony. "2020/21 NSW Redistribution: Analysis of Draft Electoral Boundaries" (PDF). Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 April 2023.