Bowman
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Bowman in Queensland, as of the 2019 federal election
Created1949
MPHenry Pike
PartyLiberal National
NamesakeDavid Bowman
Electors115,764 (2022)
Area536 km2 (207.0 sq mi)
DemographicOuter metropolitan

The Division of Bowman is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland.

Geography

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]

History

David Bowman, the division's namesake

The division was created in 1949 and is named for David Bowman, an early leader of the Australian Labor Party, in Queensland. The seat consists of the entirety of Redland City, located in the eastern suburbs of Brisbane, and includes the suburbs of Capalaba, Cleveland, Redland Bay, Birkdale, Thorneside, Alexandra Hills, Thornlands, Mount Cotton, Ormiston, Wellington Point and Victoria Point. The division also incorporates various islands of Moreton Bay including Coochiemudlo Island, the inhabited southern Bay Islands (Russell, Karragarra, Macleay and Lamb) and the big tourist destination of North Stradbroke Island.

It is generally a residential electorate with some crops, poultry, various light industries and tourism.

Bowman has traditionally been a highly marginal seat, regularly changing hands between the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party. Notably, the electorate has been won by the party with the largest national two party preferred vote at every election from 1954 to 2001 (except 1990). However, in the 2004 election, an energetic campaign by Dr Andrew Laming, and an electoral redistribution (due to the creation of the new Division of Bonner, leading veteran Bowman MP Con Sciacca to contest this new seat), saw Bowman returned to the Liberal Party by a significant margin (59.12% 2PP). The division was then considered by pollsters such as Antony Green to be a fairly safe Liberal seat.

In the 2007 election, the electorate experienced a strong swing of 8.86% towards the Australian Labor Party; the incumbent Laming held the seat by 0.04%, or 64 votes. This made it second only to McEwen as the most marginal seat in the country, although the 2009 electoral redistribution in Queensland saw the margin notionally reduced further, to effectively 0.005%, making Bowman Australia's most marginal seat at the time.[2] Laming went on to retain the seat comfortably for the Liberal National Party of Queensland in: 2010, regaining ground with a 9.51% swing towards him; 2013, despite a 6.35% swing against him; and 2016, when all parties saw a positive swing in Bowman (for the first time since 1955), due to the absence of a Palmer United Party candidate.

Members

Image Member Party Term Notes
  Malcolm McColm
(1914–1966)
Liberal 10 December 1949
9 December 1961
Lost seat
  Jack Comber
(1919–1992)
Labor 9 December 1961
30 November 1963
Lost seat
  Dr Wylie Gibbs
(1922–)
Liberal 30 November 1963
25 October 1969
Lost seat
  Len Keogh
(1931–2007)
Labor 25 October 1969
13 December 1975
Lost seat
  David Jull
(1944–2011)
Liberal 13 December 1975
5 March 1983
Lost seat. Later elected to the Division of Fadden in 1984
  Len Keogh
(1931–2007)
Labor 5 March 1983
5 June 1987
Lost preselection and retired
  Con Sciacca
(1947–2017)
Labor 11 July 1987
2 March 1996
Served as minister under Keating. Lost seat
  Andrea West
(1952–2010)
Liberal 2 March 1996
3 October 1998
Lost seat
  Con Sciacca
(1947–2017)
Labor 3 October 1998
31 August 2004
Did not contest in 2004. Failed to win the Division of Bonner
  Andrew Laming
(1966–)
Liberal 9 October 2004
19 July 2010
Lost preselection and retired
  Liberal Nationals 19 July 2010 –
11 April 2022
  Henry Pike
(1987–)
Liberal Nationals 21 May 2022
present
Incumbent

Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Bowman[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Henry Pike 43,088 42.37 −6.30
Labor Donisha Duff 29,694 29.20 +2.61
Greens Ian Mazlin 13,241 13.02 +1.03
One Nation Walter Todd 7,825 7.69 +0.39
United Australia Mary-Jane Stevens 6,601 6.49 +2.89
TNL Phil Johnson 1,243 1.22 +1.22
Total formal votes 101,692 97.09 +0.49
Informal votes 3,045 2.91 −0.49
Turnout 104,737 90.51 −2.53
Two-party-preferred result
Liberal National Henry Pike 56,447 55.51 −4.73
Labor Donisha Duff 45,245 44.49 +4.73
Liberal National hold Swing−4.73

References

  1. Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. Hurst, Brian: Time is running out in ALP in Bowman Archived 15 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Bayside Bulletin, 1 February 2010.
  3. Bowman, QLD, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.

27°34′48″S 153°14′31″E / 27.580°S 153.242°E / -27.580; 153.242

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