Division of McEwen

McEwen Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of McEwen (green) in Victoria
Created:	1984
MP:	Rob Mitchell
Party:	Labor
Namesake:	John McEwen
Area:	10,675 km² (4,122 sq mi)
Demographic:	Rural

The Division of McEwen is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the centre of the state, north of the capital city of Melbourne. It includes the outer northern suburbs of Whittlesea, Epping, Doreen, Mernda, Hurstbridge and Diamond Creek, and regional centers such as Woodend, Tooborac, Broadford, Seymour, Yea, Eildon, Marysville, Kinglake and Warburton, on top of many other small towns.

The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 14 September 1984, and was first contested at the 1984 Federal election. It was named after Rt Hon Sir John McEwen, leader of the Country Party of Australia, who was appointed caretaker Prime Minister of Australia after the disappearance of Harold Holt in 1967.

The 2007 federal election resulted in McEwen becoming the most marginal seat in the country. Incumbent Liberal MP Fran Bailey led throughout most of the initial count, only be initially found to have lost to former Labor state MP Rob Mitchell by six votes. Bailey subsequently requested and was granted a full recount, which resulted in a change in the lead and a twelve-vote victory for Bailey. The result was challenged in the High Court of Australia in its capacity as the Court of Disputed Returns, and was referred to the Federal Court of Australia. Over seven months after the election and a review of 643 individual votes, the court altered the formal status of several dozen, eventually declaring Bailey the winner by 27 votes. Following the resolution of the long-running dispute, Bailey called for a total overhaul of the voting system.^[1][2][3]

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Peter Cleeland	Labor	1984–1990
	Fran Bailey	Liberal	1990–1993
	Peter Cleeland	Labor	1993–1996
	Fran Bailey	Liberal	1996–2010
	Rob Mitchell	Labor	2010–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of McEwen

Australian federal election, 2010: McEwen
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Rob Mitchell	45,374	43.17	+2.97
	Liberal	Cameron Caine	42,054	40.01	-5.76
	Greens	Steve Meacher	12,440	11.84	+3.16
	Family First	Belinda Clarkson	3,358	3.19	+0.70
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Bini	1,332	1.27	+0.44
	Secular	Robert Gordon	549	0.52	+0.52
Total formal votes			105,107	95.60	-0.44
Informal votes			4,843	4.40	+0.44
Turnout			109,950	94.96	-1.28
Two-candidate preferred result
	Labor	Rob Mitchell	58,144	55.32	+5.34
	Liberal	Cameron Caine	46,963	44.68	-5.34
	Labor gain from Liberal		Swing	+5.34

References

• Division of McEwen, Australian Electoral Commission

1. ^ Court confirms Bailey win: The Age 3/7/2008
2. ^ Labor loses bid to win back McEwen: ABC 2/7/2008
3. ^ Mitchell v Bailey (No 2) 2008 FCA 692: Federal Court of Australia Decisions 2/7/2008

Coordinates: 37°21′43″S 145°20′49″E / 37.362°S 145.347°E / -37.362; 145.347