Electoral district of Northern Tablelands

District of New South Wales, Australia

Australian electorate

Northern Tablelands
New South Wales—Legislative Assembly

Interactive map of district boundaries from the 2023 state election

State| New South Wales
Dates current| 1920–1927
1981–present
MP| Brendan Moylan
Party| National
Namesake| Northern Tablelands
Electors| 58,873 (2024)
Area| 53,153.76 km2 (20,522.8 sq mi)
Demographic| Provincial and rural
| Electorates around Northern Tablelands:

Queensland | Queensland | Lismore
Barwon | Northern Tablelands | Clarence
Barwon | Tamworth
Upper Hunter | Oxley

Northern Tablelands is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is currently held by Brendan Moylan of the National Party.[1] The electorate currently includes Uralla Shire, Armidale Regional Council, Glen Innes Severn, Inverell Shire, Gwydir Shire and Moree Plains Shire.[2]

## History

[edit]

Northern Tablelands was originally created in 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, replacing Armidale, Gough and Tenterfield, and elected three members. It was held by the same three members throughout its first incarnation: inaugural Country Party leader Michael Bruxner, state Minister for Education David Drummond, and Labor MP Alfred McClelland, grandfather of former federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland. In 1927, it was divided into the single-member electorates of Armidale and Tenterfield. It was recreated in 1981, partly replacing Armidale and Tenterfield.[3]

On its recreation in 1981, the seat was a notional National Country seat. However, Labor's Bill McCarthy, who had won Armidale in the "Wranslide" of 1978, won the merged seat in the second "Wranslide." McCarthy held the seat for Labor against aggressive National Country/National opposition even as this already conservative area became even more so. He was only the second Labor member to represent much of the area in the single-member era, and most of the seat was served by the safe federal National seat of New England.

McCarthy had developed serious health problems by the 1984 state election, but was persuaded to recontest to maintain Labor control of the seat. He resigned in 1987 when it was apparent he could not continue, and died soon afterward. Labor endorsed McCarthy's widow, Thelma, at the subsequent by-election, but she was narrowly defeated by National candidate Ray Chappell after a heavily-publicised campaign. The seat's conservative nature reasserted itself, and Chappell was re-elected with little difficulty three times. However, in the 1999 election, Chappell faced a challenge from the popular ex-mayor of Armidale, Richard Torbay, standing as an independent. In a shock result, Torbay won the seat with a comfortable margin—the latest case of NSW country areas rejecting the Nationals in favour of local independents.

Torbay was comfortably reelected in 2003, 2007, and 2011, each time taking well over 60 percent of the two-party vote and easily winning enough primary votes to retain the seat outright. He served as Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2011, during what proved to be the final term of Labor's 16-year run in government. He was the first independent to hold that post since 1917. As a measure of his popularity, he suffered a swing of nearly 11 percent in 2011 amid the massive Coalition wave that swept through NSW, but still retained his seat with a comfortable majority of 19.2 percent. He actually won 63 percent of the primary vote, more than enough to win another term outright.

Torbay was forced out of politics in 2013 amid a corruption investigation. At the ensuing by-election, Adam Marshall easily reclaimed the seat for the Nationals. This was not considered an upset, as Northern Tablelands had been a comfortably safe National seat in "traditional" two-party matchups with Labor for most of Torbay's tenure. The Nationals would have won it two years earlier with a majority of 26.1 percent in a "traditional" two-party matchup with Labor. Marshall held the seat without serious difficulty until his resignation in 2024, usually winning well over 60 percent of the primary vote. Even as the Coalition lost government in 2022, he retained the seat with a two-candidate majority of 33.8 percent, the safest in the state. Brendan Moylan easily retained the seat for the Nationals at the ensuing by-election.

From 1999, Northern Tablelands covered 30,546 km2, including the uplands of northern New South Wales. It centred on the university city of Armidale; other towns included in the electorate are Inverell, Glen Innes, Tenterfield and Uralla. The northern boundary of the electorate is the Queensland border. At the 2003 election, there were 42,886 enrolled voters.

In 2007, the low level of population growth in the electorate led to Northern Tablelands being expanded, both to the west to take in Warialda and Bingara and to the south to take in Walcha and Nowendoc, increasing its area to 44,674 km2.[4]

The redistribution ahead of the 2015 state election saw Northern Tablelands expanded again to 53,153.76 square kilometres. Added to the district was the entirety of Moree Plains Shire along with the remainder of the former Armidale Dumaresq Shire, whilst Tenterfield Shire was removed from the district.

While Labor frequently runs dead in northern NSW, Northern Tablelands has become particularly unfriendly territory for Labor even by northern NSW standards. Labor has never come reasonably close to retaking the seat since McCarthy's death. For example, Chappell was reelected in 1995 with a primary vote large enough to win outright even as the Coalition was defeated. Since the turn of the millennium, Labor has been lucky to get more than 20 percent of the two-party vote, and has even been pushed into third place on some occasions.

## Members

[edit]

First incarnation (1920–1927, 3 members)

Member | Party | Term | Member | Party | Term | Member | Party | Term
| Michael Bruxner[5] | Progressive | 1920–1925  |  | David Drummond[6] | Progressive | 1920–1925  |  | Alfred McClelland[7] | Labor | 1920–1927
| Country | 1925–1927  |  | Country | 1925–1927
Second incarnation (1981–present, 1 member)

Member | Party | Term
| Bill McCarthy[8] | Labor | 1981–1987
| Ray Chappell[9] | National | 1987–1999
| Richard Torbay[10] | Independent | 1999–2013
| Adam Marshall[11] | National | 2013–2024
| Brendan Moylan[1] | National | 2024–present

## Election results

[edit]

Main article: Electoral results for the district of Northern Tablelands

This section is an excerpt from 2024 Northern Tablelands state by-election § Results.[edit]

2024 Northern Tablelands state by-election[12][13] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| National | Brendan Moylan | 31,203  | 67.9  | −3.7
| Shooters, Fishers, Farmers | Ben Smith  | 5,229  | 11.4  | +6.9
| Greens | Dorothy Robinson  | 4,211  | 9.2  | +4.4
| Independent | Duncan Fischer  | 3,292  | 7.2  | +7.2
| Independent | Natasha Ledger  | 1,999  | 4.4  | +3.4
Total formal votes  | 45,934  | 97.3  | −0.6
Informal votes  | 1,271  | 2.7  | +0.6
Turnout | 47,205  | 80.2  | −7.4
Two-candidate-preferred result
| National | Brendan Moylan | 33,611  | 81.9  | −1.9
| Shooters, Fishers, Farmers | Ben Smith  | 7,411  | 18.1  | +18.1
| National hold | Swing | −1.9 |

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2023 New South Wales state election (Legislative Assembly) § Northern Tablelands.[edit]

2023 New South Wales state election: Northern Tablelands[14][15] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| National | Adam Marshall | 35,575  | 71.6  | −1.8
| Labor | Yvonne Langenberg  | 5,045  | 10.2  | −0.8
| Greens | Elizabeth O'Hara  | 2,369  | 4.8  | −0.8
| Shooters, Fishers, Farmers | Michael Hay  | 2,239  | 4.5  | −5.1
| Legalise Cannabis | Peter O'Loghlin  | 1,148  | 2.3  | +2.3
| Independent | Billy Wood  | 980  | 2.0  | +2.0
| Liberal Democrats | Margaret Hammond  | 783  | 1.6  | +1.6
| Sustainable Australia | Alan Crowe  | 595  | 1.2  | +1.2
| Independent | Natasha Ledger  | 496  | 1.0  | +1.0
| Public Education | Gary Hampton  | 425  | 0.9  | +0.9
Total formal votes  | 49,655  | 98.0  | −0.1
Informal votes  | 1,039  | 2.0  | +0.1
Turnout | 50,694  | 87.6  | −3.1
Two-party-preferred result
| National | Adam Marshall | 37,654  | 83.8  | +0.7
| Labor | Yvonne Langenberg  | 7,255  | 16.2  | −0.7
| National hold | Swing | +0.7 |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Paras, James (23 June 2024). "Moree solicitor Brendan Moylan wins Northern Tablelands by-election for NSW Nationals". ABC News. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
2. ^ "Northern Tablelands". New South Wales Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
3. ^ "Former Members". Members of Parliament. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 29 September 2004. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
4. ^ "Redistribution Commissioners' Report" (PDF). Election Funding Authority of New South Wales. 21 December 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2006.[permanent dead link]
5. ^ "Sir Michael Frederick Bruxner (1882–1970)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
6. ^ "The Hon. David Henry Drummond (1890-1965)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
7. ^ "Mr Alfred McClelland (1886-1969)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
8. ^ "Mr William John Patrick McCarthy". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
9. ^ "Mr Raymond Francis Chappell (1942- )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
10. ^ "The Hon. (Richard) George Richard Torbay (1961- )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
11. ^ "The Hon. Adam John Marshall, MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
12. ^ "LA - Check Count Final Results - First Preference Votes - Northern Tablelands". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
13. ^ "LA Check Count Final Results - Distribution of Preferences - Northern Tablelands". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
14. ^ LA First Preference: Northern Tablelands, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
15. ^ LA Two Candidate Preferred: Northern Tablelands, NSW State Election Results 2023, NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.

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Electoral districts of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

Labor (45)|

* Auburn
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| Liberal (24)|

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|

National (11)|

* Bathurst
* Clarence
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* Cootamundra
* Dubbo
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* Oxley
* Tamworth
* Tweed
* Upper Hunter

Greens (3)|

* Ballina
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Independent (10)|

* Barwon
* Lake Macquarie
* Kiama
* Murray
* Orange
* Pittwater
* Sydney
* Wagga Wagga
* Wakehurst
* Wollondilly

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Former electoral districts of New South Wales

* Alexandria
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* Balmain North
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* Gladesville
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* Goldfields North
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* Gordon
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* Gwydir
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* Hastings
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* Hastings and Manning
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New England region of New South Wales, Australia

Federal divisions|

* New England
* Parkes

State electorates|

* Barwon
* Northern Tablelands
* Tamworth

Local government areas|

* Armidale
* Glen Innes Severn
* Gunnedah
* Gwydir
* Inverell
* Liverpool Plains
* Moree Plains
* Tamworth
* Tenterfield
* Uralla
* Walcha

Cities|

* Armidale
* Tamworth

Towns and villages|

* Ardglen
* Ashford
* Attunga
* Barraba
* Bendemeer
* Ben Lomond
* Bingara
* Black Mountain
* Bolivia
* Bonshaw
* Brackendale
* Breeza
* Bukkulla
* Bundarra
* Carroll
* Coolatai
* Croppa Creek
* Curlewis
* Dangarsleigh
* Deepwater
* Delungra
* Dorrigo
* Drake
* Dundee
* Dungowan
* Duri
* Ebor
* Elsmore
* Emerald Hill
* Emmaville
* Gilgai
* Glencoe
* Glen Innes
* Graman
* Gravesend
* Gunnedah
* Guyra
* Hanging Rock
* Howell
* Hillgrove
* Inverell
* Invergowrie
* Jennings
* Kellys Plains
* Kelvin
* Kentucky
* Kootingal
* Kingstown
* Legume
* Limbri
* Liston
* Llangothlin
* Manilla
* Mingoola
* Mole River
* Moonbi
* Mount Russell
* Mullaley
* Myall Creek
* Niangala
* North Star
* Nowendoc
* Nundle
* Red Range
* Rocky River
* Sandy Flat
* Somerton
* Stannifer
* Stannum
* Stonehenge
* Tambar Springs
* Tenterfield
* Tia
* Tingha
* Torrington
* Upper Horton
* Uralla
* Urbenville
* Walcha
* Walcha Road
* Wallabadah
* Wandsworth
* Warialda
* Warialda Rail
* Weabonga
* Wellingrove
* Werris Creek
* Willow Tree
* Wollomombi
* Wollun
* Woolbrook
* Wytaliba
* Yarrowitch
* Yarrowyck
* Yetman

National parks and
other conservation areas|

* Bald Rock
* Basket Swamp
* Boonoo Boonoo
* Bundarra-Barraba Important Bird Area
* Carrai
* Cathedral Rock
* Chaelundi
* Cottan-Bimbang
* Cunnawarra
* Ebor Falls
* Gibraltar Range
* Guy Fawkes River
* Kings Plains
* Kwiambal
* Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve
* Mummel Gulf
* New England
* Nowendoc
* Nymboida
* Oxley Wild Rivers
* Warrabah
* Washpool
* Werrikimbe

Rivers|

* Aberfoyle
* Apsley
* Back
* Barnard
* Beardy
* Blicks
* Blue Mountain
* Bobo
* Boonoo Boonoo
* Boyd
* Cells
* Chandler
* Chandlers
* Clouds
* Commissioners
* Cooplacurripa
* Curricabark
* Dyke
* Gara
* Georges
* Guy Fawkes
* Gwydir
* Hastings
* Kunderang
* Little Murray
* Little Nymboida
* Macleay
* Manning
* Maryland
* Moredun
* Mummel
* Nowendoc
* Nowlands
* Oaky
* Oban
* Rocky
* Rowleys
* Sara
* Severn
* Styx
* Tia
* Timbarra
* Tobins
* Towallum
* Urumbilum
* Walcrow
* Warnes
* Wollomombi
* Yarrow
* Yarrowitch

Mountain ranges and mountains|

* Barren
* Ben Lomond
* Dorrigo Plateau
* Duval
* Grundy
* Hyland
* Moonbi Range
* Point Lookout
* Round
* Thunderbolts Range
* Tia Range
* Yarrowyck

Tourist attractions|

* Apsley Falls
* Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre
* Dangar Falls
* Ebor Falls
* Newell Falls
* Sherrard Falls
* Tamworth Country Music Festival
* Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre
* Wollomombi Falls

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