Division of Banks

Australian federal electoral division

Australian electorate

Banks
Australian House of Representatives Division

From the 2016 federal election to 2025

From the 2025 federal election

Interactive map of electorate boundaries

Created| 1949
MP| Zhi Soon
Party| Labor
Namesake| Sir Joseph Banks
Electors| 119,385 (2025)
Area| 61 km2 (23.6 sq mi)
Demographic| Inner metropolitan
| Electorates around Banks:

Fowler | Watson | Barton
Hughes | Banks | Barton
Hughes | Hughes | Cook
Footnotes
[1]

The Division of Banks is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.

## History

[edit]

Sir Joseph Banks, the division's namesake. A 1773 portrait by Joshua Reynolds.

The division was created in 1949 and is named for Sir Joseph Banks, the British naturalist and botanist who accompanied James Cook on his voyage to Australia in 1770. It has always been based in the south-western and southern suburbs of Sydney, including the suburbs of Padstow, Panania, Peakhurst and Revesby.

Up until 2013, it was held since its creation by the Australian Labor Party, but has grown increasingly marginal from the 1990s onward. It was almost lost in 2004, but the 2006 redistribution added areas to the west in Bankstown and Condell Park which strengthened the seat for Labor. Those areas were lost in the 2009 redistribution, which pushed Banks into new areas to the east, around Hurstville. Long-term Labor member, Daryl Melham, was defeated at the 2013 federal election by David Coleman. Coleman became the first non-Labor member for the seat, breaking a 64-year tradition. In 2025, Zhi Soon defeated Liberal incumbent, David Coleman to return the seat to Labor for the first time in 12 years.

## Boundaries

[edit]

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.[2]

The division includes the suburbs of Allawah, East Hills, Hurstville, Hurstville Grove, Lugarno, Mortdale, Oatley, Padstow, Padstow Heights, Panania, Peakhurst, Peakhurst Heights, Picnic Point, Revesby Heights, and South Hurstville; and parts of Bankstown, Bankstown Aerodrome, Beverly Hills, Blakehurst, Carlton, Condell Park, Connells Point, Milperra, Narwee, Penshurst, Revesby, and Riverwood.[3]

## Demographics

[edit]

2021 Australian census[4]

Ancestry
Response  | Banks  | NSW  | Australia
Chinese | 20.0%  | 7.2%  | 5.5%
English | 18.4%  | 29.8%  | 33.0%
Australian | 18.4%  | 28.6%  | 29.9%
Irish | 6.1%  | 9.1%  | 9.5%
Greek | 6.0%  | 1.8%  | 1.7%
Country of birth
Response  | Banks  | NSW  | Australia
Australia | 55.9%  | 65.4%  | 66.9%
China | 9.9%  | 3.1%  | 2.2%
Nepal | 3.3%  | 0.8%  | 0.5%
Vietnam | 1.9%  | 1.2%  | 1.0%
Hong Kong | 1.8%  | 0.6%  | 0.4%
Lebanon | 1.8%  | 0.8%  | 0.3%
Religious affiliation
Response  | Banks  | NSW  | Australia
No religion | 27.1%  | 32.8%  | 38.4%
Catholicism | 22.7%  | 22.4%  | 20.0%
Anglicanism | 8.5%  | 11.9%  | 9.8%
Eastern Orthodoxy | 8.5%  | 2.5%  | 2.1%
Islam | 6.3%  | 4.3%  | 3.2%
Language spoken at home
Response  | Banks  | NSW  | Australia
English | 49.1%  | 67.6%  | 72.0%
Mandarin | 9.2%  | 3.4%  | 2.7%
Cantonese | 7.3%  | 2.8%  | 1.2%
Arabic | 5.4%  | 2.8%  | 1.4%
Greek | 3.8%  | 1.0%  | 0.9%
Nepali | 3.4%  | 0.8%  | 0.5%

## Members

[edit]

| Image  | Member  | Party  | Term  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|

|  | Eric Costa
(1900–1976) | Labor | 10 December 1949 –
29 September 1969 | Retired
|  | Vince Martin
(1920–2001) | 25 October 1969 –
19 September 1980 | Lost preselection and retired
|  | John Mountford
(1933–2022) | 18 October 1980 –
19 February 1990 | Retired
|  | Daryl Melham
(1954–) | 24 March 1990 –
7 September 2013 | Lost seat
|  | David Coleman
(1974–) | Liberal | 7 September 2013 –
3 May 2025 | Served as minister under Turnbull and Morrison. Lost seat.
|  | Zhi Soon | Labor | 3 May 2025 –
present  | Incumbent.

## Election results

[edit]

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Banks

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2025 Australian federal election in New South Wales § Banks.[edit]

2025 Australian federal election: Banks[5] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Liberal | David Coleman | 38,683  | 39.10  | −5.50
| Labor | Zhi Soon | 36,039  | 36.43  | +0.59
| Greens | Natalie Hanna  | 11,756  | 11.88  | +3.27
| One Nation | Todd Nicol  | 3,666  | 3.71  | +0.44
| Trumpet of Patriots | Allan Taruste  | 3,430  | 3.47  | +3.47
| Libertarian | Marika Momircevski  | 2,678  | 2.71  | +1.54
| Independent | John Coyne  | 1,995  | 2.02  | +2.02
| Democrats | Phillip Pearce  | 688  | 0.70  | +0.70
Total formal votes  | 98,935  | 90.00  | −3.16
Informal votes  | 10,998  | 10.00  | +3.16
Turnout | 109,933  | 92.13  | +1.61
Two-party-preferred result
| Labor | Zhi Soon | 51,830  | 52.39  | +5.03
| Liberal | David Coleman | 47,105  | 47.61  | −5.03
| Labor gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.03 |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "MAP OF COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL DIVISION OF BANKS" (PDF). AEC. October 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
2. ^ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
3. ^ "Profile of the electoral division of Banks (NSW)". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
4. ^ "2021 Banks, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics".
5. ^ Banks, NSW, 2025 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.

## External links

[edit]

* Division of Banks - Australian Electoral Commission

* v
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Electoral divisions of the Australian House of Representatives in New South Wales

Labor (28)|

* Banks
* Barton
* Bennelong
* Blaxland
* Chifley
* Cunningham
* Dobell
* Eden-Monaro
* Gilmore
* Grayndler
* Greenway
* Hughes
* Hunter
* Kingsford Smith
* Macarthur
* Macquarie
* McMahon
* Newcastle
* Parramatta
* Paterson
* Reid
* Richmond
* Robertson
* Shortland
* Sydney (also covers Lord Howe Island)
* Watson
* Werriwa
* Whitlam

Liberal (6)|

* Berowra
* Cook
* Farrer
* Hume
* Lindsay
* Mitchell

National (6)|

* Cowper
* Lyne
* New England
* Page
* Parkes
* Riverina

Independent (6)|

* Bradfield
* Calare
* Fowler
* Mackellar
* Warringah
* Wentworth

Abolished|

* Barrier
* Bland
* Canobolas
* Charlton
* Cook (1906–1955)
* Dalley
* Darling
* Dundas
* East Sydney
* Evans
* Gwydir
* Illawarra
* Lang
* Lawson
* Lowe
* Martin
* Nepean
* North Sydney
* Parkes (1901–1969)
* Phillip
* Prospect
* Riverina-Darling
* St George
* South Sydney
* Throsby
* Watson (1934–1969)
* West Sydney

* Divisions in: New South Wales
* Victoria
* Queensland
* Western Australia
* South Australia
* Tasmania
* ACT and NT

33°58′01″S 151°03′58″E﻿ / ﻿33.967°S 151.066°E﻿ / -33.967; 151.066
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