Bankstown – NSW 2019

ALP 14.0%

Incumbent MP
Tania Mihailuk, since 2011.

Geography
South-Western Sydney. Bankstown covers north-western parts of the City of Bankstown, including Bankstown, Bass Hill, Chester Hill, Sefton, Yagoona and parts of Georges Hall and Villawood.

History
The electoral district of Bankstown has existed since 1927, and has always been held by the ALP.

The seat was first won in 1927 by James McGirr. He had first won election to the Legislative Assembly as the sole Labor member for Cootamundra in 1922, succeeding his brother Greg, who had moved to a seat in Sydney. In 1925, James moved to the seat of Cumberland, which covered much of what is now Western Sydney.

In 1927, proportional representation was replaced by single-member districts, and McGirr won the new seat of Bankstown. He became a minister when the ALP gained power in 1941. In 1947, Premier William McKell was appointed Governor-General by Prime Minister Chifley, and McGirr was elected Labor leader, and Premier.

McGirr had a difficult period as Premier, losing a standoff with his party organisation over the disendorsement of Labor members, and then losing his majority at the 1950 election, forcing him to rely on the support of ex-Labor independents. He moved from the seat of Bankstown to the new seat of Liverpool at the 1950 election. He resigned as Premier and Member for Liverpool in 1952.

McGirr was succeeded in Bankstown by Spence Powell in 1950. He held the seat until his retirement in 1962.

Nick Kearns won Bankstown in 1962. He served briefly as a frontbencher in the Labor opposition before the party won power in 1976, but never served as a minister. He died in 1980.

The 1980 by-election was won by Ric Mochalski, also of the ALP. He was re-elected in 1981 and 1984, but he was forced to resign in 1986 due to charges against him to do with the collapse of a property trust in which he was involved.

The by-election in early 1987 was won by ALP candidate Doug Shedden, a Bankstown councillor. He held the seat until his retirement in 1999.

At the 1999 election, a redistribution saw the seat of Hurstville abolished. The Member for Hurstville, Morris Iemma, moved to Lakemba, while Member for Lakemba Tony Stewart moved to Bankstown.

Stewart was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. Stewart served as a minister for two months in late 2008, but was removed after he was accused of harrassing a staff member.

Stewart retired in 2011, and Bankstown was won by Tania Mihailuk. She was re-elected in 2015.

Candidates

• Saud Abu-Samen (Independent)
• George Zakhia (Liberal)
• Tania Mihailuk (Labor)
• James Rooney (Greens)

Assessment
Bankstown is a safe Labor seat.

2015 result

2015 two-party-preferred result

Booth breakdown

Booths in Bankstown have been split into central (Bass Hill and Yagoona), north (Chester Hill and Sefton) and south (Bankstown).

Labor won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all three areas, ranging from 61.4% in the centre to 66.1% in the south.

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

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