Pittwater – NSW 2019

LIB 25.7% vs GRN

Incumbent MP
Rob Stokes, since 2007.

Geography
Northern beaches of Sydney. The seat covers all of Pittwater council area and northern parts of Warringah council area. The seat covers Narrabeen, Warriewood, Elanora Heights, Mona Vale, Newport, Avalon and Scotland Island.

History
The seat of Pittwater has existed since the 1973 election. It has been dominated by the Liberal Party throughout that period. The Liberal Party has won the seat at every general election, although it was won by an independent at the 2005 by-election, and he held the seat until 2007.

The seat was first won in 1973 by Liberal Premier Robert Askin. He had first been elected to Parliament in 1950 as the member for the new seat of Collaroy. He became Leader of the Opposition in 1959, and ended 24 years of Labor rule in NSW when he became Premier at the 1965 election.

Collaroy was abolished in 1973, and Askin moved to the new seat of Pittwater, covering much of the same territory as his former seat. Askin retired as Premier and from Parliament in 1975.

The 1975 Pittwater by-election was won by Liberal candidate Bruce Webster. He held the seat until 1978.

Pittwater was won in 1978 by Liberal candidate Max Smith. He won re-election in 1981 and 1984, but after winning a third term in 1984 he resigned from the Liberal Party to sit as an independent. He resigned from Parliament in 1986.

The 1986 by-election was won by Liberal candidate Jim Longley. He served as a minister from 1992 to 1995, and retired in 1996.

Another by-election was held in 1996, and was won by John Brogden. He was promoted to the Coalition frontbench after the 1999 election. In March 2002, he challenged Opposition Leader Kerry Chikarovski and won a narrow party room vote. He led the Liberal Party to a landslide defeat in 2003, but later in the term appeared on track to win the next election.

Following the retirement of Premier Bob Carr in 2005, Brogden was exposed for offensive comments he made about the retiring Premier’s wife, and he was forced to resign as Liberal leader. Shortly after, he made an unsuccessful suicide attempt, and resigned as Member for Pittwater.

At the following by-election, the Liberals were hit hard by accusations that Brogden’s opponents in the party had pursued him and brought about the end of his political career. The seat was won by independent candidate Alex McTaggart, the Mayor of Pittwater.

At the 2007 election, McTaggart lost to Liberal candidate Alex Stokes, a former advisor to John Brogden. Stokes was re-elected in 2011 and 2015.

Stokes served as a Parliamentary Secretary in the O’Farrell government, and has served as a minister since 2014.

Candidates

Assessment
Pittwater is a very safe Liberal seat.

2015 result

2015 two-candidate-preferred result

2015 two-party-preferred result

Booth breakdown

Booths in Pittwater have been split into four areas based around key suburbs. From north to south these are: Avalon, Newport, Mona Vale, Narrabeen.

The Liberal Party won a majority of the two-candidate-preferred vote (against the Greens) in all four areas, ranging from 69.2% in Avalon to 77.5% in Mona Vale.

Labor came third, with a primary vote ranging from 11.5% in Newport to 14% in Narrabeen.

Election results in Pittwater at the 2015 NSW state election
Toggle between two-candidate-preferred (Liberal vs Greens) votes and Labor primary votes.

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