From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
Division of Barton
Australian federal electoral division
.jpg)
Australian federal electoral division
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| federal | yes |
| name | Barton |
| image | |
| caption | Interactive map of electorate boundaries from the 2025 federal election |
| created | 1922 |
| mp | Ash Ambihaipahar |
| mp-party | Labor |
| namesake | Sir Edmund Barton |
| electors | 120825 |
| electors_year | 2025 |
| area | 42 |
| class | Inner metropolitan |
| near-n | Grayndler |
| near-ne | Grayndler |
| near-nw | Watson |
| near-e | Kingsford Smith |
| near-w | Banks |
| near-s | Cook |
| near-se | Kingsford Smith |
| near-sw | Banks |
| mp-party = Labor |near-n = Grayndler |near-ne = Grayndler |near-nw = Watson |near-e = Kingsford Smith |near-w = Banks |near-s = Cook |near-se = Kingsford Smith |near-sw = Banks
The Division of Barton is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the inner south west of Sydney. It is currently represented by Labor MP Ash Ambihaipahar.
History
.jpg)
The division was created in 1922 and is named for Sir Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia. For much of its history, Barton has been a marginal seat, held by the Australian Labor Party for most of the time after 1940, but won by the Liberals (or their predecessors) at "high-tide" elections.
Barton's most prominent member has been Dr H. V. Evatt, who was Leader of the Labor Party between 1951 and 1960. After seeing his majority more than halved in 1949, and nearly being defeated in 1951 and 1955, he transferred to the safe seat of Hunter in 1958. A former minister in the Hawke and Keating ministries, Gary Punch, held the seat for Labor between 1983 and 1996. Robert McClelland, Attorney-General in the Rudd and Gillard governments, held the seat for Labor between 1996 and 2013.
Nickolas Varvaris won the seat for the Liberals at the 2013 federal election, achieving a swing of 7.2 points to finish with a two-party-preferred vote of just 50.3 percent, which made Barton the Coalition government's most marginal seat, but was defeated in 2016 by Labor’s former state deputy opposition leader Linda Burney, who held it unto her retirement at the 2025 election, when it was won by Ash Ambihaipahar, also Labor.
The Division of Barton is linked to one of the more unusual episodes in Australian politics. The first member for Barton, Labor's Frederick McDonald, disappeared after his 1925 defeat by Nationalist Thomas Ley, and it is now believed that Ley had him murdered. After being found guilty of an unrelated murder in England in 1947, Ley was declared insane and died in Broadmoor Asylum four months later.
Boundaries
The division has always been based in the inner southern suburbs of Sydney. It has traditionally been bordered to the east by Botany Bay, but, as of 2025, the coastal strip has been part of Kingsford Smith. It currently includes the suburbs of Allawah, Arncliffe, Banksia, Bardwell Park, Bardwell Valley, Beverley Park, Bexley, Bexley North, Carlton, Clemton Park, Earlwood, Kingsgrove, Kogarah, Kogarah Bay, Rockdale, Turrella, Undercliffe, and Wolli Creek; as well as parts of Belmore, Beverly Hills, Campsie, Canterbury, Hurstville, Ramsgate, Roselands and Penshurst.
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.
Demographics
| 2021 Australian census | Ancestry | Response | Barton | NSW | Australia | Country of birth | Response | Barton | NSW | Australia | Religious affiliation | Response | Barton | NSW | Australia | Language spoken at home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 19.0% | 7.2% | 5.5% | |||||||||||||
| Australian | 12.5% | 29.8% | 33.0% | |||||||||||||
| Greek | 9.6% | 1.8% | 1.7% | |||||||||||||
| Lebanese | 6.1% | 2.2% | 1.0% | |||||||||||||
| Australia | 45.8% | 65.4% | 66.9% | |||||||||||||
| China | 9.7% | 3.1% | 2.2% | |||||||||||||
| Nepal | 4.7% | 0.8% | 0.5% | |||||||||||||
| Greece | 3.0% | 0.4% | 0.4% | |||||||||||||
| Lebanon | 2.4% | 0.8% | 0.3% | |||||||||||||
| Philippines | 2.0% | 1.3% | 1.2% | |||||||||||||
| No religion | 28.9% | 32.8% | 38.4% | |||||||||||||
| Catholicism | 19.5% | 22.4% | 20.0% | |||||||||||||
| Eastern Orthodoxy | 12.8% | 2.5% | 2.1% | |||||||||||||
| Islam | 8.2% | 4.3% | 3.2% | |||||||||||||
| English | 37.1% | 67.6% | 72.0% | |||||||||||||
| Mandarin | 9.2% | 3.4% | 2.7% | |||||||||||||
| Greek | 7.3% | 1.0% | 0.9% | |||||||||||||
| Arabic | 6.8% | 2.8% | 1.4% | |||||||||||||
| Cantonese | 6.0% | 1.8% | 1.2% | |||||||||||||
| Nepali | 4.7% | 0.8% | 0.5% |
Members
| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Frederick McDonald.jpg | 100px]] | Frederick McDonald | ||||
| (1872–1926) | Labor | nowrap | 16 December 1922 – | |||
| 14 November 1925 | ||||||
| [[File:Thomas Ley.jpg | 100px]] | Thomas Ley | ||||
| (1880–1947) | Nationalist | nowrap | 14 November 1925 – | |||
| 17 November 1928 | ||||||
| [[File:James Tully.jpg | 100px]] | James Tully | ||||
| (1877–1962) | Labor | nowrap | 17 November 1928 – | |||
| 19 December 1931 | ||||||
| [[File:Albert Lane.jpg | 100px]] | Albert Lane | ||||
| (1873–1950) | United Australia | nowrap | 19 December 1931 – | |||
| 21 September 1940 | ||||||
| [[File:Herbert V. Evatt.jpg | 100px]] | Dr. H.V. Evatt | ||||
| (1894–1965) | Labor | nowrap | 21 September 1940 – | |||
| 22 November 1958 | ||||||
| [[File:LenReynolds1963.jpg | 100px]] | Len Reynolds | ||||
| (1923–1980) | nowrap | 22 November 1958 – | ||||
| 26 November 1966 | Lost seat | |||||
| [[File:BillArthur1967.jpg | 100px]] | Bill Arthur | ||||
| (1918–1982) | Liberal | nowrap | 26 November 1966 – | |||
| 25 October 1969 | ||||||
| [[File:LenReynolds1963.jpg | 100px]] | Len Reynolds | ||||
| (1923–1980) | Labor | nowrap | 25 October 1969 – | |||
| 11 November 1975 | ||||||
| [[File:Liberal Party of Australia placeholder portrait.svg | 100px]] | Jim Bradfield | ||||
| (1933–1989) | Liberal | nowrap | 13 December 1975 – | |||
| 5 March 1983 | ||||||
| [[File:Second Keating Cabinet 1994 (cropped Punch).png | 100px]] | Gary Punch | ||||
| (1957–) | Labor | nowrap | 5 March 1983 – | |||
| 29 January 1996 | ||||||
| [[File:Robert McClelland 2011-02 (cropped).jpg | 100px]] | Robert McClelland | ||||
| (1958–) | nowrap | 2 March 1996 – | ||||
| 5 August 2013 | Served as minister under Rudd and Gillard. Retired | |||||
| [[File:Liberal Party of Australia placeholder portrait.svg | 100px]] | Nickolas Varvaris | ||||
| (1974–) | Liberal | nowrap | 7 September 2013 – | |||
| 2 July 2016 | ||||||
| [[File:Linda Burney.jpg | 100px]] | Linda Burney | ||||
| (1957–) | Labor | nowrap | 2 July 2016 – | |||
| 28 March 2025 | ||||||
| [[File:Labor Placeholder.png | 100px]] | Ash Ambihaipahar | nowrap | 3 May 2025 – | ||
| present | Incumbent |
Election results
Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Barton
References
References
- [http://results.aec.gov.au/17496/Website/Default.htm 2013 federal election results: AEC]
- [http://www.abc.net.au/news/federal-election-2016/guide/bart/ Barton - 2016 federal election: Antony Green ABC]
- (26 April 2004). "Lateline History Challenge: Minister for Murder". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].
- (1947-05-07). "Ley declared insane at time of murder". The Canberra Times.
- (October 2024). "Map of the Commonwealth electoral division of Barton". [[Australian Electoral Commission]].
- (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide".
- "2021 Barton, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics".
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about Division of Barton — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report