ALP 13.0%
Incumbent MP
Yasmin Catley, since 2015.
Geography
Swansea covers parts of the City of Lake Macquarie and Wyong Shire on the eastern shore of Lake Macquarie, between the lake and the Pacific Ocean. The seat covers the suburbs of Belmont, Bluff Point, Budgewoi, Croudace Bay, Floraville, Halekulani, Lake Munmorah, San Remo and Swansea.
History
The seat of Swansea was first created for the 1981 election. With the exception of the 1988 election, when it was won by an independent, the seat has always been won by the ALP.
The seat was first won in 1981 by Don Bowman of the ALP. In 1988, Bowman lost to the independent Ivan Welsh, Mayor of Lake Macquarie. Welsh held the seat for one term, losing again to Bowman in 1991.
Bowman retired in 1995, and was succeeded by Lake Macquarie councillor Jill Hall. Hall served less than one term in Swansea, resigning in 1998 to contest and win the federal seat of Shortland. She has held Shortland ever since, winning a fifth term in 2010.
Due to the impending state election, no by-election was held in Swansea in 1998. At the election in March 1999 the seat was won by Lake Macquarie councillor Milton Orkopoulos. Orkopoulos was re-elected, and was promoted to the ministry in 2005.
In 2006, Orkopoulos was charged with offenses related to child sex and drugs. He was immediately expelled from the ALP and removed as a minister. He resigned from Parliament in late 2006, close to the 2007 state election. Orkopoulos was later convicted and is currently serving a prison sentence.
Swansea was won in 2007 by Robert Coombs of the ALP. He held the seat for four years, and lost the seat in 2011 to Liberal candidate Garry Edwards.
Edwards resigned from the Liberal Party in 2014 after allegations at ICAC about a donation to Edwards from property developer Jeff McCloy. He has sat as an independent for the remainder of his term.
Edwards ran as an independent in 2015. He came third, with the seat falling to Labor candidate Yasmin Catley.
Candidates
- Glenn Seddon (Conservatives)
- Julia Riseley (Animal Justice)
- Dean Bowman (Liberal)
- Yasmin Catley (Labor)
- Doug Williamson (Greens)
Assessment
Swansea is a safe Labor seat.
2015 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Yasmin Catley | Labor | 21,712 | 45.0 | +8.8 |
| Johanna Uidam | Liberal | 12,493 | 25.9 | -11.4 |
| Garry Edwards | Independent | 6,484 | 13.4 | +13.4 |
| Phillipa Parsons | Greens | 2,818 | 5.8 | -2.9 |
| Joshua Agland | Animal Justice | 1,402 | 2.9 | +2.9 |
| Chris Osborne | Independent | 1,360 | 2.8 | +2.8 |
| Luke Cubis | Christian Democrats | 1,322 | 2.7 | +0.3 |
| Paul Doughty | No Land Tax | 624 | 1.3 | +1.3 |
| Informal | 1,850 | 3.7 |
2015 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Yasmin Catley | Labor | 24,148 | 63.0 | +13.3 |
| Johanna Uidam | Liberal | 14,192 | 37.0 | -13.3 |
Booth breakdown
Booths in Swansea have been split into three parts: central, north and south. Polling places in the Wyong LGA have been grouped together as “south” while those in the Lake Macquarie council area have been grouped as “central” and “north”.
Labor won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all three areas, ranging from 60.6% in the north to 68.9% in the centre.
Sitting independent MP Garry Edwards came third, with a primary vote ranging from 9.4% in the south to 19.3% in the centre.
| Voter group | IND prim % | ALP 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| South | 9.4 | 62.0 | 14,404 | 29.9 |
| North | 14.9 | 60.6 | 11,274 | 23.4 |
| Central | 19.3 | 68.9 | 7,663 | 15.9 |
| Other votes | 9.9 | 60.7 | 8,954 | 18.6 |
| Pre-poll | 18.4 | 66.3 | 5,920 | 12.3 |
Election results in Swansea at the 2015 NSW state election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and primary votes for independent candidate Garry Edwards.
Easy Labor hold.