Division of Groom

The Division of Groom is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland.

Groom
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of Groom in Queensland, as of the 2019 federal election.
Created1984
MPGarth Hamilton
PartyLiberal National
NamesakeSir Littleton Groom
Electors105,984 (2019)
Area5,586 km2 (2,156.8 sq mi)
DemographicProvincial

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.[1]

History
Sir Littleton Groom, the division's namesake

The division was created in 1984 as essentially a reconfigured version of the old Division of Darling Downs, which had existed since Federation. It is named in honour of Sir Littleton Groom, who represented Darling Downs with only one short break from 1901 to 1936 and served as Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.

It is located in the rural areas west of Brisbane and is centred on the city of Toowoomba, Australia's second largest inland city. Other centres include Oakey and Pittsworth.

The seat has never elected a Labor member in either of its incarnations as Darling Downs or Groom. While Toowoomba itself (particularly, the northern suburbs) occasionally votes for Labor, it is nowhere near enough to overcome the conservative bent of the rural areas.

2020 Groom by-election
Main article: 2020 Groom by-election

Members
Image Member Party Term Notes
  Tom McVeigh
(1930–)		 Nationals 1 December 1984 –
29 February 1988		 Previously held the Division of Darling Downs. Resigned to retire from politics. Son is John McVeigh
  Bill Taylor
(1938–)		 Liberal 9 April 1988 –
31 August 1998		 Retired
  Ian Macfarlane
(1955–)		 Liberal 3 October 1998 –
19 July 2010		 Served as minister under Howard and Abbott. Retired
  Liberal National 19 July 2010 –
9 May 2016
  John McVeigh
(1965–)		 Liberal National 2 July 2016 –
18 September 2020		 Previously held the Legislative Assembly of Queensland seat of Toowoomba South. Served as minister under Turnbull. Resigned to retire from politics. Father is Tom McVeigh
  Garth Hamilton
(1979–)		 Liberal National 28 November 2020 –
present		 Incumbent

Election results
Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Groom
This section is an excerpt from 2020 Groom by-election § Results.[edit]
2020 Groom by-election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Garth Hamilton 51,534 59.83 +6.49
Labor Chris Meibusch 23,500 27.28 +8.62
Sustainable Australia Sandra Jephcott 6,716 7.80 +7.80
Liberal Democrats Craig Farquharson 4,391 5.10 +5.10
Total formal votes 86,141 97.18 +0.38
Informal votes 2,504 2.82 −0.38
Turnout 88,645 81.66 −11.38
Two-party-preferred result
Liberal National Garth Hamilton 57,875 67.19 −3.29
Labor Chris Meibusch 28,266 32.81 +3.29
Liberal National hold Swing−3.29
Primary vote results in Groom (Parties that did not get 5% of the vote are omitted)
  Liberal National
  Liberal
  National
  Labor
  Greens
  Family First
  Australian Democrats
  One Nation
  Palmer United/United Australia Party
  Sustainable Australia
  Liberal Democrats
  Nick Xenophon Team
  Confederate Action
  Independent
Two-candidate-preferred vote results in Groom

References
  1. Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. "Tally Room: 2020 Groom By-election". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 25 December 2020.

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