The Division of McMillan is an Australian Electoral Division in the state

States and territories of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...

 of Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

. It is located in the western part of the Gippsland

Gippsland

Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...

 region, which extends for the length of Victoria's eastern Bass Strait

Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...

 coastline. It includes the outer south-eastern Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 suburb of Pakenham

Pakenham, Victoria

Pakenham is a satellite suburb of Melbourne on the edge of the West Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is Cardinia Shire. At the 2006 Census, Pakenham had a population of 19,644...

, and also includes the towns of Warragul

Warragul, Victoria

Warragul is a rural centre with a population of 12,943 people east-southeast of Melbourne in Victoria. Warragul lies between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north...

, Moe

Moe, Victoria

Moe is a city in the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is about east of Melbourne and at the 2006 census had a population of 15,582 . It is administered by the City of Latrobe council....

, Wonthaggi

Wonthaggi, Victoria

Wonthaggi is a town located south east of Melbourne via the South Gippsland and Bass Highways, in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia...

, Leongatha

Leongatha, Victoria

Leongatha is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia, located south-east of Melbourne. The town is the commercial, religious, educational and civic centre of the region. At the 2006 census, Leongatha had a population of 4,504.The Murray...

 and Foster

Foster, Victoria

Foster is a dairying and grazing town south-east of Melbourne on the South Gippsland Highway in Victoria, Australia. It is about north of the Gippsland coastline which includes Shallow Inlet, Corner Inlet, Waratah Bay, Yanakie and Wilsons Promontory...

. It stretches from Mount Baw Baw

Mount Baw Baw

Mount Baw Baw is a mountain in Victoria, Australia. Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort is an Unincorporated area of Victoria surrounded by the Shire of Baw Baw.-Location:...

 and the Baw Baw National Park

Baw Baw National Park

Baw Baw is a national park in Victoria, Australia, 111 km east of Melbourne. It contains the Baw-Baw Plateau and Mount Baw Baw, a small ski resort, including nearby town, technically outside the national park....

 in the north to Wilsons Promontory

Wilsons Promontory

Wilsons Promontory is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland and is located at . South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia...

, and the Wilsons Promontory National Park

Wilsons Promontory National Park

Wilsons Promontory National Park, commonly known as Wilsons Prom or The Prom, is a national park in the Gippsland region of Victoria , 157 km southeast of Melbourne....

 in the south. It is the southernmost Electoral Division in continental Australia.

The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 Federal election

Australian federal election, 1949

Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...

. It was named after Angus McMillan

Angus McMillan

Angus McMillan , was an explorer and pioneer pastoralist in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. He is also known for being an instigator of many of the massacres against the Aboriginal peoples in the Gippsland region.-Early life:...

, one of the first Europeans to explore the Gippsland region. The Division is currently a marginal Liberal

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 seat. The Division has changed hands five times in the last seven Federal elections

Elections in Australia

Australia elects a legislature the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia using various electoral systems: see Australian electoral system. The Parliament consists of two chambers:...

. The change at the Australian federal election, 2004 was attributed to the redistribution of 29 January 2003, which removed the traditionally Labor-voting cities of Traralgon

Traralgon, Victoria

Traralgon is a regional city located in the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Traralgon is a city within the City of Latrobe....

 and Morwell

Morwell, Victoria

-Transport:The main form of transport in Morwell is the automobile. The Princes Freeway now bypasses the town to the south while the old Princes Highway which once passed through east-west through its centre is now Princes Drive and Commercial Road. The highway connects Morwell with other...

 from the Division. Russell Broadbent held the seat again in the Australian federal election, 2007, making it the first time he has been re-elected.

The 1972 federal election

Australian federal election, 1972

Federal elections were held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The Liberal Party of Australia had been in power since 1949, under Prime Minister of Australia William McMahon since March 1971 with coalition partner the Country Party...

 saw Country Party

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

 candidate Arthur Hewson win the seat from third place and a primary vote of 16.6%. This is the lowest primary vote for a winning candidate in any federal election; Hewson overtook the Liberal candidate on preferences from the Democratic Labor Party

Democratic Labor Party (historical)

The Democratic Labor Party was an Australian political party that existed from 1955 until 1978.-History:The DLP was formed as a result of a split in the Australian Labor Party that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V...

 and disendorsed sitting Liberal MP Alexander Buchanan

Alexander Buchanan

Alexander Andrew Buchanan was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he was educated there at Scotch College and then at the University of Melbourne. He became a manager and a manufacturing and wholesale merchant before serving in the military 1942-43...

, and then defeated the Labor candidate on Liberal preferences.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Geoffrey Brown	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1949 Australian federal election, 1949 Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced... –1955
	Alexander Buchanan Alexander Buchanan Alexander Andrew Buchanan was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he was educated there at Scotch College and then at the University of Melbourne. He became a manager and a manufacturing and wholesale merchant before serving in the military 1942-43...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1955 Australian federal election, 1955 Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1955. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 30 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies with coalition partner the Country Party... –1972
		Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	1972–1972
	Arthur Hewson	Country	1972 Australian federal election, 1972 Federal elections were held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The Liberal Party of Australia had been in power since 1949, under Prime Minister of Australia William McMahon since March 1971 with coalition partner the Country Party... –1975
	Barry Simon Barry Simon (Australian politician) Barry Douglas Simon was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he attended the University of Melbourne before becoming a teacher and barrister. He was a member of Berwick City Council, and served as its mayor...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1975 Australian federal election, 1975 Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses.... –1980
	Barry Cunningham Barry Cunningham Barry Thomas Cunningham was an Australian politician. Born in Pakenham, Victoria, he was a dairy and potato farmer and an agricultural contractor before entering politics...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1980 Australian federal election, 1980 Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 October 1980. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Malcolm Fraser with coalition partner the National Country Party led by Doug... –1990
	John Riggall John Riggall John Peter Riggall was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he was a dairy farmer and grazier before entering politics. He was elected to the Australian House of Representatives in 1990 as the Liberal member for McMillan, defeating Labor's Barry Cunningham. Riggall was defeated by...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1990–1993
	Barry Cunningham Barry Cunningham Barry Thomas Cunningham was an Australian politician. Born in Pakenham, Victoria, he was a dairy and potato farmer and an agricultural contractor before entering politics...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1993–1996
	Russell Broadbent Russell Broadbent Russell Evan Broadbent , Australian politician, was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as member for the Division of McMillan, Victoria for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election. He previously represented the Division of Corinella 1990-93 and McMillan 1996-98...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1996–1998
	Christian Zahra Christian Zahra Christian John Zahra , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from October 1998 to October 2004, representing the seat of McMillan, Victoria. He was born in Malta, and was educated at La Trobe University...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1998–2004
	Russell Broadbent Russell Broadbent Russell Evan Broadbent , Australian politician, was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as member for the Division of McMillan, Victoria for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election. He previously represented the Division of Corinella 1990-93 and McMillan 1996-98...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	2004–present

Election results