The Division of Shortland is an

Australian electoral division Electorates (also known as electoral divisions or seats) of the Australian House of Representatives are single member electoral districts for the lower house of the Parliament of the Commonwealth. There are currently 150 electorates. Constitut ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

The Division of Shortland covers parts of the southern

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

region and the northern part of the Central Coast region. 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.

History

The division is named after Lt

John Shortland John Shortland (5 September 1769 – 21 January 1810) was an officer of the Royal Navy, the eldest son of John Shortland.Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...

, and was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 federal election. The division closely follows the west coast of 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 ...

, on average extending only inland. Much of the western boundary is formed by

Lake Macquarie The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area (LGA) in the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city on 7 September 1984. It is adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is part of the Greater Newcastle area. The ...

. Shortland covers an area from Highfields,

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and

Boolaroo Boolaroo is a suburb and former town of Greater Newcastle, city of Lake Macquarie, in New South Wales, Australia. Geography The suburb is located from Sydney and is southwest of Newcastle's central business district in Lake Macquarie's W ...

in the north to

Budgewoi Budgewoi ( ) is a coastal town that is located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Budgewoi is situated on two peninsulas that is split by the Budgewoi Lake. The town is located about 114 km northeast of Sydney. It is part ...

and San Remo in the south. The current Member for Shortland, since the 2016 federal election, is

Pat Conroy Donald Patrick Conroy (October 26, 1945 – March 4, 2016) was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books ''The Water Is Wide (book), The Water is Wide'', ''The Lords of Discipline'', ''The Prince of Tides (no ...

, a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

. The seat has been held by Labor since its creation; like most seats in the Hunter Region, it has usually been reasonably safe for that party.

Members

Election results

References

External links

Division of Shortland - Australian Electoral Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shortland, Division of Electoral divisions of Australia Electoral divisions of Australia in New South Wales Constituencies established in 1949 1949 establishments in Australia