Division of Leichhardt

Leichhardt Australian House of Representatives Division
300px Division of Leichhardt (green) within Queensland
Created	1949
MP	Warren Entsch
Party	Liberal National
Namesake	Ludwig Leichhardt
Electors	99,402 (2013)
Area	148,988 km2 (57,524.6 sq mi)
Demographic	Rural

The Division of Leichhardt is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was first proclaimed in 1949. It is one of Australia's largest electorates, covering an area stretching from Cairns to Cape York and the Torres Strait, including the Torres Strait Islands.

The division is named after Ludwig Leichhardt, an explorer and scientist.

Most of the electorate is almost uninhabited except for small Aboriginal communities, but the extreme southeast, consisting of the northern half of the Wet Tropics, with rich volcanic soils instead of the extraordinarily infertile lateritic sands and gravels of Cape York proper, is quite densely populated and includes urban Cairns. There are small, intensive sugar cane, banana and mango farms in this region, though they are prone to damage from droughts and cyclones.

As of the 2010 election, the electorate of Leichhardt is no longer a bellwether seat. It was a bellwether seat from the election of 1972 to 2010.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Tom Gilmore	Country	1949–1951
	Harry Bruce	Labor	1951–1958
	Bill Fulton	Labor	1958–1975
	David Thomson	National	1975–1983
	John Gayler	Labor	1983–1993
	Peter Dodd	Labor	1993–1996
	Warren Entsch	Liberal	1996–2007
	Jim Turnour	Labor	2007–2010
	Warren Entsch	Liberal National	2010–present

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Leichhardt

Australian federal election, 2013: Leichhardt

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal National	Warren Entsch	38,795	45.26	−2.14
	Labor	Billy Gordon	27,920	32.57	−2.09
	Palmer United	Bruce Gibson	7,326	8.55	+8.55
	Greens	Johanna Kloot	5,646	6.59	−2.47
	Katter's Australian	George Ryan	3,677	4.29	+4.29
	Family First	Frank Miles	1,876	2.19	+0.36
	Rise Up Australia	Dale Edwards	476	0.56	+0.56
Total formal votes			85,716	94.55	+0.46
Informal votes			4,939	5.45	−0.46
Turnout			90,655	91.20	+0.10
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal National	Warren Entsch	47,725	55.68	+1.13
	Labor	Billy Gordon	37,991	44.32	−1.13
	Liberal National hold		Swing	+1.13

External links

• Division of Leichhardt (Qld) — Australian Electoral Commission