Mitchell is a safe Liberal seat in the Hills district of northwestern Sydney. The seat has always been held by the Liberals, and was held by Liberal backbencher Alan Cadman for over thirty years from 1974 to 2007. The seat was won in 2007 by prominent young right-wing factional warrior Alex Hawke. The seat covers Baulkham Hills, Castle Hill, Winston Hills and Kellyville. The seat should be comfortably retained by the Liberal Party in 2010.
Parramatta is a Labor seat covering the largest centre in Western Sydney and surrounding areas. The seat is currently held by the ALP with a margin of just under 10%, but has a history of being a marginal seat, most recently being held by the Liberal Party up until the 2004 election. The seat is currently held by Labor MP Julie Owens.
Blaxland is a safe Labor seat in southwestern Sydney. It covers the centre of Bankstown and surrounding areas, as well as parts of Fairfield, Holroyd, Parramatta and Auburn councils.
Blaxland was previously held by Paul Keating from 1969 until the defeat of his government in 1996. The seat was won by former Bob Carr advisor Jason Clare in 2007, who defeated sitting MP Michael Hatton for preselection.
Chifley is a safe Labor seat in northwestern Sydney, covering western parts of the City of Blacktown. Chifley has been held by Labor MP Roger Price since 1984, although Price is retiring in 2010. Chifley covers part of the centre of Blacktown and other nearby suburbs including Mount Druitt, Doonside and Rooty Hill. The ALP is standing union official Ed Husic at this year’s election, and he should easily win the seat.
McMahon is a seat in Western Sydney, covering substantial parts of Fairfield council as well as parts of Holroyd and Penrith councils. The seat is a renamed version of the seat of Prospect, which covered almost exactly the same area at the 2007 election. Prospect was a safe Labor seat ever since its creation in 1969, and McMahon is no different.
It is held by the ALP with a 13.8% margin, and should be safely won by sitting Member for Prospect Chris Bowen, who is Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law and Minister for Human Services in Kevin Rudd’s cabinet.
Fowler is a safe Labor seat in south-western Sydney. It covers Cabramatta, parts of Fairfield and parts of Liverpool. It has been held by outspoken backbencher Julia Irwin since 1998, but she is retiring and will be replaced by sitting Member for Werriwa Chris Hayes, who was forced from his seat as part of a factional deal which saw Laurie Ferguson move from Reid to Werriwa. It is one of the safest Labor seats in the country, and that is unlikely to change in 2010.
Werriwa is a safe Labor seat in southwestern Sydney. The seat has been held by a number of prominent Labor figures in the past, including Gough Whitlam, Mark Latham, and former federal Treasurer John Kerin. The seat has been held since 2005 by Chris Hayes, who has been pushed into neighbouring Fowler by a factional deal which has given the seat to Laurie Ferguson, the sitting member for Reid and Parliamentary Secretary. While there will be a local backlash against the parachuted candidate, the ALP will safely retain this seat with plenty of room to spare.
Farrer is a large seat covering parts of southwestern NSW. The seat covers parts of New South Wales along the Murray River from Albury to the South Australian border and up to the Queensland border. Major centres include Albury, Broken Hill and Deniliquin. The seat is held by Liberal MP Sussan Ley, who won the seat off the Nationals in 2001 following the retirement of former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer.
Riverina is a Nationals seat in southwestern NSW, covering Wagga Wagga, Griffith and a number of other towns. It has been held by the Nationals for most of its history, but with the retirement of sitting MP Kay Hull in 2010, the Liberals plan to challenge the Nationals for the seat, as they did in the neighbouring seats of Hume and Farrer in 1998 and 2001. With the ALP having no chance of gaining the seat, the main contest will be between the Liberals and Nationals, and could hinge on the quality of candidates selected.
The seat of Hunter is a safe Labor electorate covering inland parts of the Hunter region. The seat covers parts of Maitland, Cessnock, Singleton, Muswellbrook and the Upper Hunter, with a majority of voters in the strongly pro-Labor area between Cessnock and Maitland. The seat is held by Joel Fitzgibbon, who was Minister for Defence in the Rudd government until his resignation in June 2009.
