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| Australian federal election, 2016
Division of Leichhardt, Queensland
North Queensland: Cairns, Cooktown, Mossman, Trinity
Sitting member: Hon Warren Entsch (Liberal), elected 1996, retired 2007, elected 2010
Enrolment at close of rolls: 109,096
2013 Liberal majority over Labor: 5.7%
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Candidates in ballot-paper order:
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1. John Kelly
Rise Up Australia |
2. Kurt Pudniks
Australian Greens |
3. Peter Rogers
One Nation |
4. Hon Warren Entsch
Liberal Party |
5. Sharryn Howes
Australian Labor Party |
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6. Ned Gebadi
Family First |
7. Daniel McCarthy
Independent |
8. Michael Newie
Independent |
9. Brad Tassell
Katter's Australian Party |
2013 results
Statistics and history
Leichhardt was created in 1949 and its boundaries have changed very little since - it consists of the fast-growing tourist centre of Cairns and the remote
communities of Cape York as far north as Torres Strait. The tourist boom has given the seat a higher level of median family income than most regional seats,
though it still has a low level of people born in non English speaking countries and people in professional occupations. It has the seccond-highest level
of people working in tourism of any seat, and also the the third-highest proportion of people of Indigeous origin.
For most of its history Leichhardt was a fairly safe Labor seat, dominated by the pastoral workforce and the Australian Workers Union, but the decline of
the rural working class and the growth of Cairns as a service centre have changed the seat's demography and politics, and the Liberals have held it with
one interruption since 1996. Labor retains some strength in Cairns, but its strongest support now comes from the Indigenous communities of Cape York. The
Liberals dominate the coastal areas around Cairns, although Labor won all the state seats in this area in 2015.
Warren Entsch, Liberal MP for Leichhardt from 1996 to 2007 and again since 2010, is a colourful and unpredictable character who has built up a large
personal vote. Before entering politics he was a crocodile farmer and property developer. He was a Parliamentary Secretary in the Howard Government. When
he retired in 2007, the seat went to Labor's Jim Turnour, but in 2010 Entsch made a comeback and easily regained the seat. He was Chief Opposition Whip
from 2010 to 2013.
Labor's candidate is Sharryn Howes, a worker in Indigneous health in the region. Given the fairly comfortable Liberal majority and the high profile that
Entsch enjoys after 20 years in local politics, this will be a hard seat for Labor to win.
These maps are the property of Adam Carr and may not be reproduced without his permission.
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Prospective pendulum, showing all candidates
State and territory maps, showing new boundaries
The thirty seats that will decide the election
Other seats of interest
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