- Division of Blair
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Blair
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Blair (green) within QueenslandCreated: 1998 MP: Shayne Neumann Party: Labor Namesake: Harold Blair Area: 6,409 km² (2,475 sq mi) Demographic: Rural The Division of Blair is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 1998 and is named after Harold Blair, an Aboriginal singer and civil rights campaigner. The Division is based in the rural areas west of Brisbane and includes parts of Ipswich and the Scenic Rim and Lockyer Valley regions.
The founder of the One Nation Party, Pauline Hanson, contested Blair in 1998, shifting from her previous seat, Oxley. To get rid of Hanson, Liberal and Labor preferenced each other, allowing Liberal challenger Cameron Thompson to win on the eighth count.
Thompson held the seat without serious difficulty in the next two elections, and it was widely reckoned as a safe Liberal seat. In the 2006 redistribution, the 2004 Liberal margin of 11.2% was reduced to 5.7%, as Esk, Nanango and Kingaroy were removed and more of Ipswich and Boonah were added. Blair had been rated as having received more funding promises from the Howard Government than any other electorate in the country.[1] In the 2007 election, Thompson was defeated by Labor challenger Shayne Neumann, with a 10.2 percent swing to Labor.
Members
Member Party Term Cameron Thompson Liberal 1998–2007 Shayne Neumann Labor 2007–present Election results
Main article: Electoral results for the Division of BlairAustralian federal election, 2010: Blair Party Candidate Votes % ±% Labor Shayne Neumann 30,890 42.08 -9.23 Liberal National Neil Zabel 27,525 37.50 -2.11 Greens Patricia Petersen 8,122 11.06 +6.96 Family First Joshua Olyslagers 3,605 4.91 +2.86 Independent Brad King 3,267 4.45 +4.45 Total formal votes 73,409 94.12 -2.03 Informal votes 4,589 5.88 +2.03 Turnout 77,998 93.89 -1.10 Two-candidate preferred result Labor Shayne Neumann 39,814 54.24 -2.74 Liberal National Neil Zabel 33,595 45.76 +2.74 Labor hold Swing -2.74 References
Electoral divisions of the Australian House of Representatives in Queensland Blair · Bonner · Bowman · Brisbane · Capricornia · Dawson · Dickson · Fadden · Fairfax · Fisher · Flynn · Forde · Griffith · Groom · Herbert · Hinkler · Kennedy · Leichhardt · Lilley · Longman · Maranoa · McPherson · Moncrieff · Moreton · Oxley · Petrie · Rankin · Ryan · Wide Bay · Wright
Abolished: Darling Downs · Oxley (1901-34)
Divisions in: New South Wales · Victoria · Queensland · Western Australia · South Australia · Tasmania · Australian Capital and Northern Territories Categories:- Electoral divisions of Australia
- Federal politics in Queensland
- Australia government stubs
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