The Division of Page is an
Australian electoral division in the
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
of
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. It stretches from
Korora to the
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
border, comprising the Pacific coast until
Empire Vale, including inland settlements such as
Lismore,
Grafton and
Casino
A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
.
Since 2013, its
MP has been
Kevin Hogan of the
National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to:
Active parties
* National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals''
* Bangladesh:
** Bangladesh Nationalist Party
** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)''
* Californ ...
.
History

The division is named after the Right Honourable
Sir Earle Page
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page (8 August 188020 December 1961) was an Australian politician and surgeon who served as the 11th prime minister of Australia from 7 to 26 April 1939, in a caretaker capacity following the death of Joseph Lyons. ...
, the second leader of the
Country Party of Australia and the
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...
after the death of
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Australia, from 1932 until his death in 1939. He held office as the inaugural leader of the United Australia Par ...
in 1939. The division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 October 1984, and was first contested at the
1984 federal election.
Since its creation, Page has usually been a marginal seat, frequently changing hands between the National Party and the
Labor Party, with neither party gaining more than 55% of the two party preferred vote at any election except for the
1984 election, the
2019 election and the
2022 Australian federal election
The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 May 2022, to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Morrison government, Liberal–National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, soug ...
. It was considered a
bellwether
A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.[bellwether]
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Re ...
seat from the
1990 election until 2022, when it was comfortably won by the National Party, despite the victory of the Labor Party under
Anthony Albanese
Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...
. Though results vary by election, booths in the
City of Lismore
The City of Lismore is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The seat of the local government area is Lismore, New South Wales, Lismore, a major regional centre of th ...
LGA are usually Labor's strongest results, while the more rural booths generally deliver strong votes for the Nationals candidate.
It was previously held by
Ian Causley
Ian Raymond Causley (19 October 1940 – 27 April 2020) was an Australian politician. He was a Nationals member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Page, New South Wales from 1996 to 2007.
Early life
Causle ...
, the Deputy
Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
The Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives is the Chairperson, presiding officer of the Australian House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The counterpart in the upper house is the President of th ...
. Causley retired at the
2007 election, and
Chris Gulaptis, a former Mayor of
Maclean
MacLean, also spelt McLean, is a Scottish Gaelic surname (Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathain", a ...
, was endorsed as the Nationals' candidate. Labor selected
Janelle Saffin
Janelle Anne Saffin (born 1 November 1954) is an Australian politician and a member of the Labor Party. She has been the Member for Lismore in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 23 March 2019. She was the Member for Page in the Aus ...
, a former member of the
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
, who took the seat with a swing of around 8 per cent. Saffin increased her majority in 2010, however was defeated in 2013 by the Nationals'
Kevin Hogan, who won with a swing of 6.71 per cent.
Hogan moved to the crossbench in 2018 in protest over the spate of
leadership spills in the Liberal Party. However, he still supported the Coalition on confidence and supply, and remained a National in good standing. He rejoined the Coalition before the 2019 election and contested that as a Nationals endorsed candidate.
Boundaries
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the
Australian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union
A ...
. 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.
The division is located in the far north-east of the state, adjoining the border with
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
and the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...
. It includes the towns of
Lismore,
Casino
A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
,
Grafton,
Tyringham
Tyringham (/ˈtiːrɪŋəm/) is a village in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about a mile and a half north of Newport Pagnell.
The village name is an Old English language word, an ...
,
Bonalbo
Bonalbo, a rural village in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, is located north of Sydney and it is the regional centre of Kyogle and it sits within the Kyogle Council local government area.
The traditional owners of th ...
,
Nimbin,
Yamba and
Iluka. Originally, much of its current territory (including Page's home of Grafton) was located in neighbouring
Cowper, which Page represented from 1919 to 1961. In February 2016, Page's borders were extended as far south as Sapphire Beach.
Members
Election results
References
External links
Division of Page – Australian Electoral Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Division of
Electoral divisions of Australia
Electoral divisions of Australia in New South Wales
Constituencies established in 1984
1984 establishments in Australia