Division of Lalor

The Division of Lalor (/ˈlɔːlər/)[1] is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. Located in the south-western suburbs of Melbourne, it includes the south-western hub of Werribee as well as the suburbs of Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Truganina, Wyndham Vale and part of Point Cook.

Lalor Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Lalor in Victoria, as of the 2019 federal election.
Created	1949
MP	Joanne Ryan
Party	Labor
Namesake	Peter Lalor
Electors	106,795 (2019)
Area	493 km^2 (190.3 sq mi)
Demographic	Outer Metropolitan

At 9.0%, Lalor has the nation's highest proportion of children aged under 4 years old. It has the nation's lowest proportion of residents aged 65 and over (7.0%), is sixth highest nationally for families being couples with dependent children (44.4%), and has the sixth highest rate of residents purchasing their own homes (49.3%).

History

Peter Lalor, the division's namesake

The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 Federal election. It was named after Peter Lalor, the leader of the miners at the Eureka Stockade, and a former member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is a safe seat for the Australian Labor Party, which has held it for all except three years of its existence, when it was lost in the 1966 landslide. However, a redistribution ahead of the 1969 election made it a notional Labor seat. Labor retook the seat easily and has since held it without difficulty.

It has been held by a succession of senior Labor members: Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013; Barry Jones, former Minister for Science under Bob Hawke and Labor National President; and Jim Cairns, former Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister under Gough Whitlam. As Gillard was Deputy Prime Minister prior to becoming Prime Minister, Lalor is therefore the only federal electorate to have been held by two Deputy Prime Ministers.

The current member for Lalor since the 2013 election is Joanne Ryan.

Members

Image		Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Reg Pollard (1894–1981)	Labor	10 December 1949 – 26 November 1966	Previously held the Division of Ballarat. Lost seat
		Mervyn Lee (1920–2009)	Liberal	26 November 1966 – 25 October 1969	Did not contest in 1969. Failed to win the Division of Bendigo
		Dr Jim Cairns (1914–2003)	Labor	25 October 1969 – 10 November 1977	Previously held the Division of Yarra. Served as minister and Deputy Prime Minister under Whitlam. Retired
		Barry Jones (1932–)	Labor	10 December 1977 – 31 August 1998	Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Melbourne. Served as minister under Hawke. Retired
		Julia Gillard (1961–)	Labor	3 October 1998 – 5 August 2013	Served as minister and Deputy Prime Minister under Rudd. Served as Prime Minister from 2010 to 2013. Retired
		Joanne Ryan (1961–)	Labor	7 September 2013 – present	Incumbent

Election results

2019 Australian federal election: Lalor[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Joanne Ryan	48,332	51.70	−0.86
	Liberal	Gayle Murphy	28,209	30.18	−0.05
	Greens	Jay Dessi	7,273	7.78	−1.83
	United Australia	Jeffrey Robinson	4,451	4.76	+4.76
	Australia First	Susan Jakobi	4,094	4.38	+1.28
	Non Affiliated	Aijaz Moinuddin	1,119	1.20	+1.20
Total formal votes			93,478	95.57	+0.12
Informal votes			4,337	4.43	−0.12
Turnout			97,815	91.60	+4.05
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Joanne Ryan	58,341	62.41	−1.78
	Liberal	Gayle Murphy	35,137	37.59	+1.78
	Labor hold		Swing	−1.78

References

1. Those familiar with the suburb (not contained within the electorate itself), but not the electorate, may erroneously pronounce it [ˈlæɪloː] or [ˈlæɪlə].
2. Lalor, VIC, Tally Room 2019, Australian Electoral Commission.

External links

• Division of Lalor - Australian Electoral Commission