Division of La Trobe

La Trobe Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of La Trobe in Victoria, as of the 2022 federal election
Created	1949
MP	Jason Wood
Party	Liberal
Namesake	Charles La Trobe
Electors	105,857 (2022)
Area	1,327 km2 (512.4 sq mi)
Demographic	Provincial

The Division of La Trobe is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. It is a semi-urban electorate extending from the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne to the westernmost areas of Gippsland. It fully incorporates the suburbs of Beaconsfield, Officer and Pakenham, the majority of Clyde North and Harkaway, and eastern portions of Berwick. The division also covers towns beyond the metropolitan area such as Beaconsfield Upper, Bunyip, Cockatoo, Emerald, Garfield, Gembrook, Koo Wee Rup, Lang Lang, Nar Nar Goon and Pakenham Upper.

Geography

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.

History

Charles La Trobe, the division's namesake

The division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 election. It was named after Charles La Trobe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria. It was originally located closer to the city, but redistributions moved it further south-east. It originally included the suburbs of Croydon, Dandenong, Ferntree Gully and Ringwood.

The first person to hold the seat was Richard Casey, Baron Casey, later the sixteenth Governor-General of Australia and the last of three Australian politicians to be elevated to the British House of Lords. The Division of Casey, which borders this division to the north, is named after him. In 1961, the division was the subject of a book, Parties and People: A Survey Based on the La Trobe Electorate, by Creighton Burns.

Members

	Image	Member	Party	Term	Notes
		Richard Casey (1890–1976)	Liberal	10 December 1949 – 10 February 1960	Previously held the Division of Corio. Served as minister under Menzies. Resigned to take up a seat in the British House of Lords
		John Jess (1922–2003)		9 April 1960 – 2 December 1972	Lost seat
		Tony Lamb (1939–)	Labor	2 December 1972 – 13 December 1975	Lost seat. Later elected to the Division of Streeton in 1984
		Marshall Baillieu (1937–)	Liberal	13 December 1975 – 18 October 1980	Lost seat
		Peter Milton (1928–2009)	Labor	18 October 1980 – 24 March 1990	Lost seat
		Bob Charles (1936–2016)	Liberal	24 March 1990 – 31 August 2004	Retired
		Jason Wood (1968–)		9 October 2004 – 21 August 2010	Lost seat
		Laura Smyth (1976–)	Labor	21 August 2010 – 7 September 2013	Lost seat
		Jason Wood (1968–)	Liberal	7 September 2013 – present	Incumbent

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of La Trobe

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2022 Australian federal election in Victoria § La Trobe.[edit]

2022 Australian federal election: La Trobe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jason Wood	41,786	45.58	−0.20
	Labor	Abi Kumar	23,918	26.09	−7.55
	Greens	Michael Schilling	9,980	10.89	+3.32
	United Australia	Merryn Mott	6,182	6.74	+3.80
	One Nation	Hadden Ervin	4,555	4.97	−0.62
	Animal Justice	Helen Jeges	2,450	2.67	+2.67
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Abelman	1,911	2.08	+2.08
	Federation	Rebecca Skinner	890	0.97	+0.97
Total formal votes			91,672	95.34	−0.11
Informal votes			4,483	4.66	+0.11
Turnout			96,155	90.89	+1.67
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Jason Wood	53,803	58.69	+3.56
	Labor	Abi Kumar	37,869	41.31	−3.56
	Liberal hold		Swing	+3.56

External links

• Division of La Trobe - Australian Electoral Commission