Division of Dawson

Dawson Australian House of Representatives Division
Interactive map of boundaries
Created	1949
MP	Andrew Willcox
Party	Liberal National
Namesake	Anderson Dawson
Electors	110,356 (2022)
Area	14,630 km2 (5,648.7 sq mi)
Demographic	Provincial and rural
Electorates around Dawson: Herbert Pacific Ocean Pacific Ocean Kennedy Dawson Pacific Ocean Capricornia Capricornia Pacific Ocean

The Division of Dawson is an Australian electoral division in Queensland. It covers areas around the city of Mackay.

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.

The Division of Dawson includes the city of Mackay, as well as other neighbouring towns. It also includes the Whitsunday Islands.

History

Anderson Dawson, the division's namesake

The division was created in 1949 and is named after Anderson Dawson, the first Labor Premier of Queensland and leader of the first parliamentary socialist government anywhere in the world. It is located on the North Queensland coast, taking in the towns of Ayr, Bowen, Mackay, Proserpine and some south-eastern suburbs of the city of Townsville.

Apart from a period from 1966 to 1975 and 2007 to 2010, it has been held by the National Party. While Mackay, the largest city wholly within the electorate, is a longstanding Labor stronghold, it is usually not enough to overcome the region's overall conservative leaning.

Members

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Charles Davidson (1897–1985)	Country	10 December 1949 – 1 November 1963	Previously held the Division of Capricornia. Served as minister under Menzies. Retired
		George Shaw (1913–1966)		30 November 1963 – 9 January 1966	Died in office
		Rex Patterson (1927–2016)	Labor	26 February 1966 – 13 December 1975	Served as minister under Whitlam. Lost seat
		Ray Braithwaite (1933–)	National Country	13 December 1975 – 16 October 1982	Retired
			Nationals	16 October 1982 – 29 January 1996
		De-Anne Kelly (1954–)		2 March 1996 – 24 November 2007	Served as minister under Howard. Lost seat
		James Bidgood (1959–)	Labor	24 November 2007 – 19 July 2010	Retired
		George Christensen (1978–)	Liberal National	21 August 2010 – 27 March 2022	Did not contest in 2022. Failed to win a Senate seat
			One Nation	27 March 2022 – 21 May 2022
		Andrew Willcox (1969–)	Liberal National	21 May 2022 – present	Incumbent

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Dawson

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2022 Australian federal election in Queensland § Dawson.[edit]

2022 Australian federal election: Dawson

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal National	Andrew Willcox	40,109	43.33	+0.38
	Labor	Shane Hamilton	22,650	24.47	+4.19
	One Nation	Julie Hall	12,289	13.27	+0.18
	Greens	Paula Creen	6,675	7.21	+2.70
	Katter's Australian	Ciaron Paterson	5,189	5.61	−0.71
	United Australia	Christian Young	3,713	4.01	−0.89
	Great Australian	Jim Jackson	1,948	2.10	+2.10
Total formal votes			92,573	95.86	+2.87
Informal votes			4,001	4.14	−2.87
Turnout			96,574	87.49	−3.30
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal National	Andrew Willcox	55,930	60.42	−4.19
	Labor	Shane Hamilton	36,643	39.58	+4.19
	Liberal National hold		Swing	−4.19

The sitting member, George Christensen, was elected as a Liberal National, but resigned from the party in 2022, subsequently joining One Nation and contested a Senate seat.

External links

• Division of Dawson (Qld) — Australian Electoral Commission