Gladys Liu (Lib-Chisholm) – Maiden Speech

This is the maiden speech delivered to the House of Representatives by Gladys Liu, the Liberal member for Chisholm, Victoria.

Liu

Liu is the first Chinese Australian woman elected to the House of Representatives. Her family has operated a number of small businesses in the Chisholm area. She previously worked as an adviser to Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu. She unsuccessfully contested the Victorian Legislative Council election in 2014.

Liu won Chisholm at the May 18, 2019 elections. She replaced Julia Banks, who won the seat for the Liberal Party in 2016 and resigned to sit as an independent following the overthrow of Malcolm Turnbull in August 2018. Banks unsuccessfully contested Flinders as an independent at the election. The Liberal member for Flinders, Greg Hunt, can be seen linking arms with Liu at the end of her speech.

Chisholm is in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Predominantly residential, it is based around Box Hill, Blackburn, Mount Waverley and Glen Waverley.

Liu won the seat with 50.57% of the two-party-preferred vote, a swing against the Liberal Party of 2.34%. The Liberal Party’s primary vote 43.38%, a decrease of 3.71%. The ALP polled 34.30% of the primary vote, a decrease of 0.39%. The Greens polled 11.84%, up 0.30%.

Chisholm is now the most marginal seat in Victoria, held by 1,090 votes. It is the Morrison government’s second most marginal seat in the nation. Bass is the most marginal, held by 563 votes, or 0.41%.

Listen to Liu (20m):

Watch Liu (24m):

Hansard transcript of maiden speech by Gladys Liu (Liberal-Chisholm).

The SPEAKER (16:57): Before I call the honourable member for Chisholm, I remind the House that this is the honourable member’s first speech and I ask the House to extend to her the usual courtesies.

Ms LIU (Chisholm) (16:57): I am thankful to rise to speak in the Parliament of Australia for the first time and for the opportunity to represent the people of Chisholm, who have entrusted me to be their voice in this place. It is a wonderful example of the welcoming character of Australians that my electorate has sent a woman born in Hong Kong to speak for them in the parliament. We are so fortunate to live in a country where migrants can come to Australia, become Australians and serve its people here in the parliament. How good is Australia? [Read more…]


Julia Banks (Lib-Chisholm) Turns Independent

The member for the Victorian electorate of Chisholm, Julia Banks, has announced that she is resigning from the Liberal Party to sit as an independent in the House of Representatives, plunging the Morrison government further into minority status.

Banks had previously announced that she would not contest Chisholm again as a Liberal. She has suggested she might run in Chisholm, or elsewhere, as an independent.

Banks won Chisholm at the 2016 federal election. It was the only seat the Liberal Party captured from the Labor Party. The ALP’s Anna Burke had held the seat since 1998.

A redistribution means the redrawn Chisholm will be based around the suburbs of Box Hill, Blackburn, Mount Waverley and Glen Waverley. It has a notional Liberal majority of 3.4%. Last Saturday’s Victorian state election saw the seats of Box Hill and Mount Waverley lost by the Liberal Party to the ALP with swings of 7.5% and 6.0% respectively. The Blackburn-based electorate of Forest Hill, whilst retained by the Liberal Party, registered a 3.0% swing to the ALP.

Bank’s announcement in the House came at the beginning of the day’s proceedings. It coincided with a press conference by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The coalition government now holds just 74 of the 150 seats in the House, having already lost former PM Malcolm Turnbull’s seat of Wentworth to Dr Kerryn Phelps, also an independent. There are now seven crossbenchers in the House. The ALP has 69 seats.

  • Listen to Banks’ statement (5m)
  • Watch Bank’s statement (5m)

Hansard transcript of statement by Julia Banks, former Liberal member for Chisholm.

Ms BANKS (Chisholm) (12:01): Mr Speaker, on indulgence, may I make a personal statement?

The SPEAKER: Yes, the member for Chisholm may proceed.

Ms BANKS: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Following the leadership coup in August, I announced my decision that I will not recontest the seat of Chisholm at the next election as a member of the Liberal Party. I’ve always put the people before the party. After being a Labor held seat for 18 years, the people of Chisholm elected me as I promised them that I would be their representative under the leadership of the former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and former deputy leader and foreign minister Julie Bishop—both visionary, inspiring leaders of sensible, centrist, liberal values with integrity and intellect, and with significant support from my local community, and across Australia, as leaders of our nation. [Read more…]


Julia Banks (Lib-Chisholm) – Maiden Speech

Julia Banks, the Liberal member for Chisholm, has delivered her maiden speech to the House of Representatives.

Banks

Chisholm was the only seat the Coalition won from the ALP at the July 2 double dissolution. Banks succeeds the former Speaker, Anna Burke, who held the seat for 18 years from 1998. [Read more…]


Seats Changing Hands At The 2016 Federal Election

A total of 19 seats changed hands at the 2016 House of Representatives elections.

The Coalition went into the election holding 90 seats and finished up with 76. It lost 17 (16 to the ALP and one to the Nick Xenophon Team). One seat moved from the Liberal Party to The Nationals. The Liberals won one seat from the ALP.

The ALP went into the election holding 55 seats and ended up with 69. It won 16 from the Coalition, lost one to the Liberals, and lost one to the redistribution in NSW.

As in 2013, there are 5 crossbenchers. The Greens and Katter’s Australian Party retained their seats, whilst the two independents (Wilkie and McGowan) increased their majorities. Clive Palmer did not contest Fairfax and it returned to the LNP. The Nick Xenophon Team took Mayo from the Liberal Party.

The 19 seats that changed hands represent 12.66% of the House. 131 seats (87.33%) did not change hands, demonstrating once again the stability and predictability of Australian voting habits and the narrow range of seats that change governments. In the 2013 election, 22 seats (14.66%) changed hands. [Read more…]