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| Adam Carr's Election Archive
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Australian federal election, 2019
Division of Maribyrnong, Victoria
Western Melbourne: Ascot Vale, Avondale Heights, Essendon, Maidstone, Niddrie
State seats: All of
Essendon, parts of
Footscray and
Niddrie
Local government areas: All of Moonee Valley, parts of Brimbank, Melbourne and Moreland
Enrolment at close of rolls: 112,879
1999 republic referendum: Yes 56.8
2018 same-sex marriage survey: Yes 59.9
Sitting member: Hon Bill Shorten (Labor):
Elected 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016
2007 Labor majority over Liberal: 15.3%
2010 Labor majority over Liberal: 16.9%
2013 Labor majority over Liberal: 11.4%
2016 Labor majority over Liberal: 12.3%
2019 notional Labor majority over Liberal: 9.4%
Status: Fairly safe Labor
2016 results
Statistics and history
Candidates in ballot-paper order:
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1. Sarwar Hasan
United Australia Party |
2. James Williams
Australian Greens |
3. Hon Bill Shorten
Australian Labor Party |
4. Christine Stow
Liberal Party |
Candidate websites:
Hon Bill Shorten
Christine Stow
James Williams
Division of Maribyrnong
Maribyrnong was created in 1906, and at various times has covered most of the western and north-western suburbs of
Melbourne. In 1949 it was cut back to the area around Essendon, but later it expanded to the west to take in
newer suburbs such as Sunshine and St Albans. The 2018 redistribution created the new St Albans-based seat of
Fraser, pushing Maribyrnong to the south-east, taking territory from Wills and Melbourne.
Maribyrnong is a solidly working-class seat, with 17% of its workforce engaged in manufacturing and a high proportion of
people born in non English speaking countries. It is also the second-most Catholic electorate in Australia (35.0%), a fact of
considerable importance in its history.
Maribyrnong has been held by the Labor Party for most of its history, the only significant exception being the period
from 1955 to 1969, when the Democratic Labor Party, with its base among working-class Catholics, directed its preferences
to the Liberals, enabling them to win the seat. Members for Maribyrnong include Labor ministers Arthur Drakeford, Dr Moss Cass and
Alan Griffiths. Bob Sercombe won the seat in 1996, but lost his preselection in a coup organised by the Labor Unity faction in 2006.
His successor was Bill Shorten, the national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, who has held it safely since.
Bill Shorten, Labor MP for Maribyrnong since 2007, was born in Melbourne, the son of a waterside worker and union official,
and has arts and law degrees from Monash and an MBA from Melbourne Business School. He worked for Gareth Evans, Bill
Landeryou and other Labor figures and as a lawyer for Maurice Blackburn, a leading Labor law firm. In 1994 he went to
work for the AWU and rose rapidly, becoming Victorian State Secretary in 1998 and National Secretary in 2001. He was
regarded as the model of the new trade union official - well-educated, professional and articulate. He gained a national
reputation at the time of the 2006 Beaconsfield mine disaster in Tasmania.
In 2007 Shorten entered Parliament, and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services
by Kevin Rudd. It was no secret that Rudd disliked him and saw him as a threat, and was determined not to promote him.
As a result, Shorten was one of the organisers of the June 2010 coup that replaced Rudd with Julia Gillard. After the
2010 election he became in rapid succession Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, Minister for Employment
and Workplace Relations and Minister for Education. He held his place in Rudd's brief second ministry in 2013. After the
election he defeated the Left's candidate, Anthony Albanese, to win the Labor leadership.
Shorten benefited greatly from the inept performance of Tony Abbott as PM, and led in the polls from early 2014 until
Malcolm Turnbull's coup against Abbott in September 2015. His poll standing then collapsed, and many observers wrote off
his chances of winning the 2016 election or surviving as Leader long after it. But a dogged campaign saw Labor gain 14 seats
and reduce the Turnbull government to a one-seat majority. This boosted Shorten's standing and enabled him to survive for
the next three years in opposition. Labor continued to lead in the polls, but Shorten's personal standing lagged far behind Turnbull's.
Despite this he led Labor to success in the July 2018 "super Saturday" by-elections, which brought about Turnbull's downfall.
After the 2018 redistrubution Shorten had the option of moving to the new ultra-safe seat of Fraser, but opted to remain
in Maribyrnong, despite its reduced Labor majority. This is still a safe Labor seat and Shorten is unlikely to be troubled.
The Liberal candidate is Christine Stowe, a consultant. The Greens candidate is James Williams, an engineer.
Demographics:
Median weekly household income: $1,405 (Australia $1,438)
People over 65: 15.7% (Australia 15.8%)
Australian born: 53.7% (Australia 66.7%)
Ancestry: Vietnamese 10.1%, Italian 9.7%
Non-English-speaking households: 48.6% (Australia 22.2%)
Catholics 35.0% (Australia 22.6%)
Buddhism: 8.3%
No religion 21.8% (Australia 29.6%)
University graduates: 24.0% (Australia 22.0%)
Professional and managerial employment: 35.1% (Australia 35.2%)
Employed in manufacturing and construction: 22.5% (Australia 22.9%)
Paying a mortgage: 28.8% (Australia 34.5%)
Renting: 31.4% (Australia 30.9%)
Traditional families: 34.6% (Australia 32.8%)
Members:
Hon Samuel Mauger (Prot, Lib) 1906-10
Hon James Fenton (ALP, UAP) 1910-34
Hon Arthur Drakeford (ALP) 1934-55
Philip Stokes (Lib) 1955-69
Hon Dr Moss Cass (ALP) 1969-83
Hon Alan Griffiths (ALP) 1983-96
Robert Sercombe (ALP) 1996-2007
Hon Bill Shorten (ALP) 2007-
Boundaries following 2018 redistribution:
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