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Melissa McIntosh (Lib-Lindsay) – Maiden Speech

This is the maiden speech by Melissa McIntosh, the NSW Liberal member for Lindsay.

McIntosh

McIntosh, 41, was elected at the May 18, 2019 election. She attended Western Sydney University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and communications. She was a communications manager with the not-for-profit Wentworth Community Housing at the time of her election.

The western Sydney seat of Lindsay was created in 1984. It includes Badgerys Creek, Castlereagh, Emu Plains, Mulgoa, Penrith and Werrington.

McIntosh is the sixth member for Lindsay, and its third Liberal. Each of her two predecessors, one Liberal and one Labor, survived only one term. McIntosh defeated the former ALP state minister Diane Beamer, following the disendorsement of the sitting Labor member, Emma Husar.

McIntosh secured a 6.15% two-party swing to the Liberal Party. She increased the Liberal primary vote by 7.16% to 46.45%. The ALP primary decreased by 5.47% to 35.61%.

Listen to McIntosh (27m):

Watch McIntosh (28m):

Hansard transcript of maiden speech by Melissa McIntosh, Liberal member for Lindsay.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the honourable member for Lindsay, I remind the House that this is the honourable member’s first speech. I ask the House to extend to her the usual courtesies.

McIntosh

Mrs MCINTOSH (Lindsay) (12:03): Mr Speaker, colleagues, family and friends that are here today, Lindsay is in so many ways a microcosm of the Australian community. It’s got families, it’s got retired people, it’s got lots and lots of small businesses and it’s got a very strong community spirit. These are the words of former Prime Minister Howard OM AC on his visit to Lindsay during the campaign—and, as always, former Prime Minister Howard is right—’From Menzies’ forgotten people to Howard’s battlers to Morrison’s quite Australians, Lindsay has been and will remain a microcosm of Australia.’ [Read more…]


Emma Husar (ALP-Lindsay) – Maiden Speech

This is the maiden speech to the House of Representatives by Emma Husar, the new ALP member for Lindsay.

  • Listen to Husar (20m – transcript below)
  • Watch Husar (20m)

Hansard transcript of maiden speech by Emma Husar, ALP member for Lindsay.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the honourable member for Lindsay, I remind honourable members that this is her first speech. I therefore ask that the usual courtesies be extended to her. [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…]


Informal Vote Declines In Federal Election; Sydney Again Records Highest Rates

The percentage of informal votes in the 2016 House of Representatives elections dropped by 0.86% to 5.05%.

The informal vote is the lowest since 2004, when it was 5.2%. Informals declined in every State and Territory, apart from the Northern Territory, which has recorded the highest rate of 7.35%, an increase of 1.05%.

Other than NSW and the NT, all States and Territories recorded an informal vote of less than 5%. In NSW, the informal percentage was 6.17%.

Whilst the highest informal vote in an individual seat outside NSW is 8.84% in Murray (Vic), NSW has 9 seats with an informal vote above 8%. As in previous elections, these are all Labor-held electorates in Sydney with high proportions of non-English speaking residents.

The highest informal vote in an individual electorate was recorded in Lindsay, where it reached 11.77%. The seat of Blaxland, once held by former Labor prime minister Paul Keating, had 11.55%, the second highest.

The Victorian seat of Kooyong recorded the lowest informal vote of any of the country’s 150 electorates – just 1.99%. Kooyong was once held by former Liberal prime minister Sir Robert Menzies. [Read more…]