Macgregor – Brisbane 2016

Council margin – LNP 25.1%
Mayoral margin – LNP 28.1%

Incumbent councillor
Steven Huang, since 2011.

Geography
South-eastern Brisbane. Macgregor covers the suburbs of Eight Mile Plains, Macgregor, Robertson, Upper Mount Gravatt and Wishart.

Map of Macgregor's 2012 and 2016 boundaries. 2012 boundaries marked as red lines, 2016 boundaries marked as white area. Click to enlarge.
Map of Macgregor’s 2012 and 2016 boundaries. 2012 boundaries marked as red lines, 2016 boundaries marked as white area. Click to enlarge.

Redistribution
Macgregor has shifted quite a long way north, taking in large parts of Wishart including Upper Mount Gravatt, and losing southern parts to Runcorn. These changes increased the LNP council margin from 24.6% to 25.1% and cut the mayoral margin from 28.5% to 26.3%.

History
Labor candidate Gail MacPherson won Runcorn ward in 1994. She was re-elected in Runcorn in 1997, 2000 and 2004. Her margin at the 2004 election was a very slim 2.2%.

The 2008 redistribution split the Runcorn ward between the new wards of Karawatha and Macgregor.

The new Macgregor took in parts of Wishart, and sitting Wishart Liberal councillor Graham Quirk shifted to Macgregor. Quirk had been sitting on the council since 1995.

Quirk increased the Liberal margin from 7.9% to 21.1% at the 2008 election, and became deputy mayor as part of the Liberal Party gaining a majority on the council.

Graham Quirk became Lord Mayor in early 2011, after Campbell Newman resigned from the mayoralty to take up the state leadership of the Liberal National Party. Quirk was re-elected in 2012.

Quirk was replaced as councillor for Macgregor by the LNP’s Steven Huang in April 2011, and Huang was re-elected in 2012 with a further 3.4% swing.

Candidates

Assessment
Macgregor is a very safe Liberal National Party ward.

2012 council result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing Redist
Steven Huang Liberal National 12,437 65.8 -1.6 68.0
Anil Verma Labor 3,865 20.4 -5.7 20.7
Colin Sheppard Greens 1,374 7.3 +0.8 7.5
Chris Burns Independent 1,232 6.5 +6.5 3.8
Informal 529 2.7

2012 council two-party-preferred result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing Redist
Steven Huang Liberal National 12,771 74.6 +3.5 75.1
Anil Verma Labor 4,353 25.4 -3.5 24.9
Exhausted 1,295

2012 mayoral result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing Redist
Graham Quirk Liberal National 13,966 72.7 +6.0 72.7
Ray Smith Labor 3,422 17.8 -7.8 18.3
Andrew Bartlett Greens 1,294 6.7 +2.1 6.6
Rory Killen Independent 303 1.6 +1.6 1.4
Chris Carson Independent 233 1.2 +1.2 1.0
Informal 501 2.5

2012 mayoral two-party-preferred result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing Redist
Graham Quirk Liberal National 14,150 78.5 +6.9 78.1
Ray Smith Labor 3,870 21.5 -6.9 21.9
Exhausted 1,198
Polling places in Macgregor at the 2012 Brisbane City Council election. Central in green, North in orange, South in blue. Click to enlarge.
Polling places in Macgregor at the 2012 Brisbane City Council election. Central in green, North in orange, South in blue. Click to enlarge.

Booth breakdown
Booths in Macgregor have been split into three parts: central, north and south.

The Liberal National Party’s majority is lowest in the north (73% of council vote and 75% of mayoral vote) and highest in the centre (79% of council vote and 82% of mayoral vote).

Voter group LNP council 2PP LNP mayoral 2PP Total votes % of votes
North 73.3 74.8 5,239 36.1
South 75.1 80.2 4,715 32.5
Central 79.2 81.8 4,435 30.5
Other votes 63.6 76.7 5,380 37.0
Two-party-preferred votes for mayor in Macgregor at the 2012 Brisbane City Council election.
Two-party-preferred votes for mayor in Macgregor at the 2012 Brisbane City Council election.
Two-party-preferred votes for councillor in Macgregor at the 2012 Brisbane City Council election.
Two-party-preferred votes for councillor in Macgregor at the 2012 Brisbane City Council election.

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