# Electoral district of Wakehurst

The Electoral district of Wakehurst is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It covers a significant part of Sydney's Northern Beaches as well as parts of the Forest District. Created in 1962, it has been won by the Liberal Party at all but three elections over the last half-century.

## History

The seat of Wakehurst was created in the August 1961 electoral redistribution, with its territory drawn partly from the seats of Manly and Collaroy. First contested at the 1962 state election, Wakehurst was named in honour of the popular long-serving Governor of New South Wales from 1937 to 1946, Lord Wakehurst. It was held by the Liberal Party from its creation until the 1978 election, when it was won by the Labor Party as part of the first Wranslide. Although the seat is historically Liberal, Labor held the seat until the 1984 election, when the Liberals retook the seat.
The seat was first won in 1962 by Dick Healey of the Liberal Party. He moved to the new seat of Davidson in 1971. He served as a minister in the Coalition state government from 1973 to 1976, and retired in 1981. Wakehurst was won in 1971 by Allan Viney. He held the seat until his defeat in 1978 by the ALP's Tom Webster. Webster was re-elected at the 1981 election but was defeated in 1984 by Liberal candidate John Booth. Booth held the seat until 1991, when he lost preselection to Brad Hazzard. Hazzard joined the Coalition shadow frontbench after the 1995 election, and served as a minister in the O'Farrell, Baird, Berejiklian and Perrottet governments.
Hazzard retired at the 2023 NSW election, when the Mayor of Northern Beaches Council, Michael Regan, won the seat as an independent candidate.

## Geography

On its current boundaries, Wakehurst takes in the suburbs of Allambie, Allambie Heights, Bantry Bay, Beacon Hill, Collaroy, Collaroy Plateau, Cromer, Forestville, Killarney Heights, Narraweena, Oxford Falls and parts of Belrose, Brookvale, Dee Why and Frenchs Forest.

## Members for Wakehurst

| Member | Party | Period |
| Dick Healey | Liberal | 1962–1971 |
| Allan Viney | Liberal | 1971–1978 |
| Tom Webster | Labor | 1978–1984 |
| John Booth | Liberal | 1984–1991 |
| Brad Hazzard | Liberal | 1991–2023 |
| Michael Regan | Independent | 2023–present |

## Election results

2023 New South Wales state election: Wakehurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Toby Williams | 18,940 | 36.9 | −23.0 |
| | Independent | Michael Regan | 18,430 | 35.9 | +35.9 |
| | Labor | Sue Wright | 7,617 | 14.8 | −2.1 |
| | Greens | Ethan Hrnjak | 4,000 | 7.8 | −2.4 |
| | Animal Justice | Susan Sorensen | 1,220 | 2.4 | −0.8 |
| | Sustainable Australia | Greg Mawson | 1,127 | 2.2 | −0.7 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 51,334 | 97.4 | +0.3 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,353 | 2.6 | −0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,687 | 90.7 | +2.1 |
| Notional two-party-preferred count ||||||
| | Liberal | Toby Williams | 23,685 | 59.6 | −12.3 |
| | Labor | Sue Wright | 16,054 | 40.4 | +12.3 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Independent | Michael Regan | 24,589 | 54.5 | +54.5 |
| | Liberal | Toby Williams | 20,555 | 45.5 | −26.4 |
| | Independent gain from Liberal | Independent gain from Liberal | | | |