Lismore (Key Seat)

Far North Coast

Very Safe National 24.3%

MP

Thomas George (National) since 1999.

Profile

A far north coast electorate covering the major regional centre of Lismore, the electorate also includes the whole of Lismore City Council, Kyogle Shire, Tenterfield Shire, as well as Murwillumbah and the western parts of Tweed Shire. Major centres include Lismore, Murwillumbah, Kyogle and Tenterfield. (Map)

Redistribution

There are minor boundary changes with Ballina and Clarence in the east, but a more significant changes is the shift into the northern tablelands in gaining the balance of Tenterfield Shire. The National margin is unchanged at 24.3%.

Background

First created in 1894 when state parliament was converted to single member electorates, Lismore was abolished in 1904 by the post-Federation cut in the size of the Legislative Assembly. It was re-created in 1913, abolished in 1920 as the state experimented with proportional representation, and has been in continuous existence since 1927.



Lismore has normally returned Country and National Party members, apart from a strange sequence of events that delivered the seat to Labor's Keith Compton from 1959-65. Labor did not nominate a candidate at the 1959 election, but the sitting Country Party MP Jack Easter was challenged by an Independent candidate who had the backing of some local Country Party branches. Easter won by two votes, but the result was overturned in the courts, and at the subsequent by-election, the Independent Clyde Campbell was endorsed as a second Country Party candidate. Labor nominated for the by-election, and its candidate Keith Compton won on the leakage of preferences between the competing Country Party candidates. Compton was defeated on the election of the Askin government in 1965.



Lismore again left the Country/National fold in the early 1980s when MP Bruce Duncan resigned over the party's name change from Country to National. He was re-elected without a National opponent in 1984 and retired at the 1988 election when Lismore returned its traditional home in the National Party.

Past Election Results

Year Winning Party 1950 CP 1953 CP 1956 CP 1959 CP 1959By ALP 1962 ALP 1965 CP 1968 CP 1971 CP 1973 CP 1976 CP 1978 CP 1981 NAT 1984 IND 1988 NAT 1991 NAT 1995 NAT 1999 NAT 2003 NAT 2007 NAT 2011 NAT

Coloured tab indicates seat won by a party forming government

Notes on Margin

The margin used for Lismore has been calculated from the alternative 2-party preferred count between National and Labor conducted after the election for information purposes. The Greens finished second in Lismore at the 2011 election and the National margin versus the Greens was 20.2%. Given the extensive boundary changes, a new margin has not been estimated.

2011 Census Highlights

At 16.3% has the state's third highest proportion of workers employed in health care and social assistance.

Changing Electoral Boundaries

2015 Ballot Paper (6 Candidates) Party THE GREENS NO LAND TAX THE NATIONALS COUNTRY LABOR CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY (FRED NILE GROUP) ANIMAL JUSTICE PARTY

Adam Guise THE GREENS Guise grew up in rural NSW and moved to Lismore in 1999 to study Law, Education and Arts at Southern Cross University. In 2013, Guise was hired as Policy and Legislation Advisor for Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham, where he assisted with the mining, agricultural and crown lands portfolios. In 2014 Guise returned to the Northern Rivers to work as Lock the Gate Regional Coordinator. He was actively involved in the Bentley Blockade which resulted in suspension of Metgascos drilling licence. Website

Thomas George THE NATIONALS 65 year-old George was born in Australia of Lebanese parents. Some of George's earliest memories in life are of acting as translator for his parents whenever they had to deal with business or the bureaucracy. He in facts credits this period for providing him with a rather younger than normal introduction to the ways of business. First elected in 1999, he is very well known in his electorate thanks to his many years working as a North Coast stock and station agent, involvement in the local rescue helicopter service, connections in the Lismore business sector and owner of the Cecil Hotel in Casino. He has been Deputy Speaker of the NSW Parliament since 2011. Website

Isaac Smith COUNTRY LABOR Smith is Deputy Mayor of Lismore City Council and works as the Operations Manager for a community transport firm. He previously worked for seven years as a media lecturer at Southern Cross University. He has a post-graduate certificate in Business Management from Rutgers University and a BA Media (Hons.) in media and journalism. Website

Gianpiero Battista CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY (FRED NILE GROUP) Born in Milan, Italy, Battista moved to Australia in 1994. He has a Degree in Tourism (SCU), a Grad. Cert. in Marketing (Monash) and has completed his MBA in 2014 (SCU). He is a Councillor in Lismore (6 years) and has been the owner of a number of small hospitality businesses for 15 years. In 2005 he donated one of his kidneys to his son Isaak. Website

2011 Result Party Votes % Swing NAT 27,371 61.2 +7.0 ALP 5,902 13.2 -12.4 CDP 801 1.8 +1.8 IND 1,514 3.4 +3.4 GRN 9,157 20.5 +2.7 OTH 0 0.0 -2.5 NAT 28,993 70.2 +10.2 ALP 0 0.0 -40.0 GRN 12,307 29.8 +29.8