Vaucluse – NSW 2015

LIB 31.4%

Incumbent MP
Gabrielle Upton, since 2011.

Geography
Eastern suburbs of Sydney. Vaucluse covers most of Woollahra local government area and half of Waverley local government area. It covers the suburbs of Watsons Bay, Vaucluse, Dover Heights, Bondi Beach, Bellevue Hill, Double Bay, Darling Point and Point Piper.

Redistribution
No change.

History
Vaucluse has existed since the 1927 election. In its history, it has always been held by the Liberal Party and its predecessors.

The seat was first won in 1927 by Nationalist candidate William Foster. He held the seat until his death in 1936.

The seat was won at the 1936 Vaucluse by-election by independent UAP candidate Murray Robson. He soon joined the United Australia Party and held his seat for over two decades. He took a leave of absence to serve as a military officer during the Second World War, but continued to hold his seat.

Robson became leader of the NSW Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition in 1954 as a compromise candidate after a tied ballot. He held the leadership for only thirteen months before he was replaced in 1955. He was re-elected in 1956, and then retired in 1957.

The 1957 Vaucluse by-election was won by Liberal candidate Geoffrey Cox. He was re-elected in 1959 and 1962, and held office until he committed suicide in his Parliament House office in 1964.

No by-election was held following Cox’s death, and Liberal candidate Keith Doyle won Vaucluse at the 1965 election. He held his seat until his retirement in 1978.

Rosemary Foot won Vaucluse for the Liberal Party in 1978. She served as deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1986, when she retired.

Ray Aston won the Vaucluse by-election in 1986, and was re-elected in 1988, but he died later that year.

The 1988 Vaucluse by-election was won by Michael Yabsley. He had been Liberal Member for Bligh from 1984 to 1988, when he was defeated by independent Clover Moore. Yabsley was immediately appointed to the ministry after winning the by-election. He stepped down from the ministry in 1992 and retired in 1994.

The 1994 Vaucluse by-election was won by Peter Debnam. He joined the Opposition frontbench in 1997. In 2005, he was elected Leader of the Opposition, and led the Liberal-National coalition into the 2007 election. He stepped down as leader following the 2007 election. He continued as a frontbencher until May 2008, when he resigned in protest at his party’s plan to support the ALP’s privatisation of the electricity industry.

Debnam retired in 2011, and Vaucluse was easily won by Liberal candidate Gabrielle Upton.

Candidates

Assessment
Vaucluse is a very safe Liberal seat.

2011 election result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Gabrielle Upton Liberal 30,187 69.8 +9.9
Susan Jarnason Greens 7,879 18.2 -2.2
Pauline Neill Labor 4,645 10.7 -8.9
Beresford Thomas Christian Democrats 549 1.3 +1.3

2011 two-candidate-preferred result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Gabrielle Upton Liberal 30,895 76.1 +10.0
Susan Jarnason Greens 9,714 23.9 -10.0

2011 two-party-preferred result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Gabrielle Upton Liberal 31,564 81.4 +13.5
Pauline Neill Labor 7,215 18.6 -13.5
Polling places in Vaucluse at the 2011 NSW state election. Bondi in blue, Vaucluse in green, Woollahra in yellow. Click to enlarge.
Polling places in Vaucluse at the 2011 NSW state election. Bondi in blue, Vaucluse in green, Woollahra in yellow. Click to enlarge.

Booth breakdown
Booths in Woollahra have been split into three parts: Bondi in the south-east, Vaucluse in the north-east and Woollahra in the west.

The Liberal Party won large primary vote majorities of 72.6% in Woollahra and 76.4% in Vaucluse. In Bondi, the Liberal Party won 58% of the primary vote.

The Greens came second, with a vote ranging from 13% in Vaucluse to 25% in Bondi. Labor’s vote also peaked at 15% in Bondi, compared to around 9% in the other areas.

Voter group LIB % GRN % ALP % Total % of votes
Woollahra 72.6 17.4 9.0 11,032 25.5
Vaucluse 76.4 13.4 8.6 7,030 16.3
Bondi 58.0 25.2 15.4 9,594 22.2
Other votes 72.1 16.6 10.0 15,604 36.1
Liberal primary votes in Vaucluse at the 2011 NSW state election.
Liberal primary votes in Vaucluse at the 2011 NSW state election.
Greens primary votes in Vaucluse at the 2011 NSW state election.
Greens primary votes in Vaucluse at the 2011 NSW state election.
Labor primary votes in Vaucluse at the 2011 NSW state election.
Labor primary votes in Vaucluse at the 2011 NSW state election.

4 COMMENTS

  1. Bondi is tourist central. Anyone in Sydney would understand why. For that reason, it’s hardly surprising that Bondi is more left than the rest of the electorate.

  2. Bondi still retains some of its working class character with pockets of 1920s/1930s walk-up flats. The rising rents and luxury apartment developments are slowly changing its demographics, but it’s nothing like the more established wealthier parts of the electorate.

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