ALP 19.5%
Incumbent MP
Jason Clare, since 2007.
Geography
South-western Sydney. Blaxland covers large parts of the City of Bankstown. A majority of the seat lies in Bankstown council area, along with small parts of Fairfield, Holroyd, Parramatta and Auburn council areas. It covers the centre of Bankstown and the suburbs of Condell Park, Yagoona, Georges Hall, Bass Hill, Birrong, Chester Hill, Villawood, Yennora, Regents Park and parts of Fairfield and Granville.
History
Blaxland is a safe Labor seat, and has been held by the ALP continuously since 1949.
Blaxland was first won in 1949 by Labor candidate James Harrison. Harrison defeated former NSW Labor premier Jack Lang, who had won the seat of Reid as an independent in 1946.
Harrison held Blaxland as a Labor backbencher for twenty years, retiring in 1969. He was succeeded by 25-year-old Paul Keating. Keating quickly rose through the ranks of the ALP, joining Gough Whitlam’s ministry in 1975. Keating went on to serve as Treasurer in the Hawke government and after a period of turmoil was elected Labor leader in 1991, becoming Prime Minister.
Keating was re-elected as Prime Minister at the 1993 election, but lost the 1996 election. Following his defeat he resigned as Member for Blaxland.
The ensuing by-election was won by Labor candidate Michael Hatton. Hatton held the seat for the entirety of the Howard government, but was challenged for preselection in 2007 to Jason Clare, a former advisor to NSW Premier Bob Carr, who had the support of the NSW Labor Party executive, and Clare won the seat at the 2007 election. Clare won re-election in 2010, 2013 and 2016.
Candidates
- Veronica Rowe (Christian Democratic Party)
- Oz Guney (Liberal)
- Jason Clare (Labor)
- Nadeem Ashraf (United Australia)
- James Rooney (Greens)
Assessment
Blaxland is a very safe Labor seat.
2016 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Jason Clare | Labor | 50,572 | 63.3 | +8.1 |
| Felicity Findlay | Liberal | 19,825 | 24.8 | -8.5 |
| Clint Nasr | Christian Democratic Party | 4,810 | 6.0 | +3.9 |
| Suzan Virago | Greens | 3,698 | 4.6 | +1.3 |
| Gabriela Zabala | Socialist Equality Party | 980 | 1.2 | +1.2 |
| Informal | 10,429 | 11.5 |
2016 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Jason Clare | Labor | 55,507 | 69.5 | +8.2 |
| Felicity Findlay | Liberal | 24,378 | 30.5 | -8.2 |
Booth breakdown
Booths have been divided into three parts: central, north and south. The centre and the south covers those areas in the Bankstown council area, while the north covers those in the new Cumberland council area.
Labor won a large majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all three areas, ranging from 68.6% in the south to 73.3% in the north.
| Voter group | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| South | 68.6 | 20,035 | 25.1 |
| Central | 71.2 | 17,359 | 21.7 |
| North | 73.3 | 17,207 | 21.5 |
| Other votes | 64.2 | 9,942 | 12.4 |
| Pre-poll | 67.8 | 15,342 | 19.2 |
Two-party-preferred votes in Blaxland at the 2016 federal election
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Milperra really sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of this seat. Would probably be a better fit in Banks.
Yeah Milperra and the northern bits of Revesby and Padstow really belong in Banks.
The north-south configuration of Blaxland is also less than ideal.
With the continual developments within Bankstown and Auburn, you could see this seat getting redistributed to having the southern boundary as the M5, pushing Milperra into Banks.
Would make this seat even safer and make Banks stronger for the Liberal Party
Banks should start with the basic boundaries of east hills state electorate and build from there
Mick
Not gonna happen. The AEC has been clear they want the M5 as the boundary. Having said that they will be compelled to revert to Milperra rd in Banks. & the Georges River for Hughes
why is the m5 the boundary…. why not Canterbury Milperra and Georges river Rd…… the Boundary round Blakehurst / Connells point is also messy…
Mick
Please don’t ask me to explain the AEC reasons, or the lack thereof. That is really just too much !!. Please it is cruel……..
BTW I AGREE COMPLETELY
There is nothing immutable about the M5 as a boundary. Milperra Rd would be better but redistributions are a numbers game.
The M5 is certainly a better boundary than the East Hills railway line as originally proposed.