Fairfield – NSW 2019

ALP 17.8%

Incumbent MP
Guy Zangari, since 2011.

Geography
Western Sydney. Most of the seat lies in the City of Fairfield, as well as parts of Bankstown and Holroyd. It covers the suburbs of Canley Heights, Canley Vale, Fairfield, Wakeley, Yennora and parts of Guildford.

History
The electoral district of Fairfield has existed since the 1953 election. It has always been won by the Labor Party.

Fairfield was won in 1953 by the ALP’s Clarrie Earl. In 1962 he moved to the new seat of Bass Hill, which he held until his retirement in 1973.

Fairfield was won in 1962 by Jack Ferguson. He had won the seat of Merrylands in 1959 before switching seats. In 1968, he returned to Merrylands. He served as Deputy Premier from 1976 to 1984, when he retired from politics. His sons Martin and Laurie Ferguson are now both federal members of Parliament.

Eric Bedford won Fairfield in 1968. He held it until 1981, and then held Cabramatta from 1981 until his retirement in 1985. He served as a minister from 1976 to 1985.

Bedford was succeeded in Fairfield by former Fairfield mayor Janice Crosio in 1981. She served as a minister in the Labor government from 1984 to 1988. At the 1988 election she moved to the new seat of Smithfield. She resigned from Smithfield in 1990 to be elected to the federal seat of Prospect. She held that seat until 2004, serving as a parliamentary secretary in the final term of the Keating government.

Fairfield was won in 1988 by Geoff Irwin. He had previously won Merrylands in 1984, and moved to Fairfield when his first seat was abolished. He retired at the 1995 election.

Joe Tripodi won Fairfield in 1995. He became a minister in the Labor government in 2005. He rose through the ministerial ranks while developing a reputation as a backroom powerbroker. He became Finance Minister under Premier Nathan Rees, but was sacked in November 2009. This partly triggered Rees’ removal as Labor leader and Premier in late 2009.

Joe Tripodi retired in 2011, and Fairfield was won by Guy Zangari. Zangari was re-elected in 2015.

Candidates

• Sam Georgis (Christian Democrats)
• Sam Youkhana (Liberal)
• Astrid O’Neill (Greens)
• Guy Zangari (Labor)

Assessment
Fairfield is a very safe Labor seat.

2015 result

2015 two-party-preferred result

Booth breakdown

Booths in Fairfield have been split into three parts: east, north-west and south-west.

Labor won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all three areas, ranging from 64.2% in the east to 71.8% in the south-west.

Two-party-preferred votes in Fairfield at the 2015 NSW state election

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