Bob Baldwin, Liberal Member For Paterson, Announces Retirement

Bob Baldwin, the Liberal member for Paterson, has announced that he will retire at this year’s election.

BaldwinBaldwin, 60, won Paterson in 2013 with 59.78% of the two-party-preferred vote. He secured 53.86% of the primary vote. However, under the recent NSW redistribution, Paterson is now notionally a Labor seat, with a margin of 0.4%. Baldwin’s announcement is not altogether unexpected.

The abolition of neighbouring Charlton, held by the ALP’s Pat Conroy, led to Jill Hall retiring from Shortland, allowing Conroy to transfer there and thereby allowing Joel Fitzgibbon to remain in Hunter, which now absorbs much of the old Charlton.

The ALP has preselected Meryl Swanson to contest Paterson.

Baldwin first won the NSW electorate in 1996 but lost it at the 1998 federal election, before regaining it in 2001. The seat takes in Neath, Kurri Kurri and Williamtown in the south, and along the Hunter River and Port Stephens in the north. It includes Maitland, Nelson Bay and Raymond Terrace. [Read more…]


Sharman Stone, Liberal Member For Murray, Announces Retirement From Parliament

Sharman Stone, the Liberal member for the northern Victorian electorate of Murray, has announced that she will retire from Parliament at this year’s election.

StoneStone, 64, has held Murray since 1996, through seven terms of parliament. She was a parliamentary secretary in the Howard government between 1998 and 2006, when she was appointed Minister for Workforce Participation. She has been overlooked for ministerial positions in the Abbott and Turnbull governments.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull paid a fulsome tribute to Stone today, describing her as a “tireless, enthusiastic representative” and a “stalwart defender of local industry”. Turnbull’s full statement is shown below.

The electorate of Murray is based on Shepparton and Echuca, and includes the towns of Boort, Bridgewater, Cobram, Euroa, Kyabram, Mooroopna, Murchison, Nagamabie, Nathalia, Numurkah, Rochester, Rushworth, Tatura, Violet Town, Wedderburn and Yarrawonga.

Stone held the ultra-safe electorate in 2013 with 70.87% of the two-party vote, up 1.29% on her 2010 margin. The Liberal Party primary vote was 61.41%. [Read more…]


John Cobb, Nationals MP, To Retire From Calare

John Cobb, the Nationals MP for Calare, has announced that he will retire at this year’s election.

CobbCobb, 66, has been a federal member since 2001, through five terms. He held Parkes in 2001 and 2004, transferring to Calare in 2007.

Cobb was a Parliamentary Secretary in the Howard government (2004-05) and became Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs in 2005. He was appointed Minister for Community Services in 2006 and then Assistant Minister for the Environment and Water Resources from 2007 until the government’s defeat that year.

Calare is a safe seat for the Nationals. Its main centres of population include: Bathurst, Blayney, Canowindra, Eugowra, Gulgong, Kandos, Lithgow, Molong, Oberon, Orange, Mudgee, Portland, Rylstone, Wallerawang and Yeoval. [Read more…]


Ian Macfarlane To Retire From Parliament At Election

Ian Macfarlane, the LNP member for Groom in Queensland and former minister in the Abbott and Howard governments, is to retire from parliament at the election due this year.

MacfarlaneMacfarlane has been the member for Groom since 1998. He was Minister for Small Business and then Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources in the Howard government, from 2001 until its defeat in 2007.

Macfarlane was again Minister for Industry and then Minister for Industry and Science in the Abbott government from 2013, until Malcolm Turnbull replaced Abbott last September. Macfarlane agreed to step down from the ministry to allow Turnbull to promote new blood. [Read more…]