# Electoral district of Upper Hunter

Upper Hunter is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. The seat is currently held by Dave Layzell for the National Party after he was elected at a by-election to replace Michael Johnsen.
Upper Hunter covers the entirety of Dungog Shire, Muswellbrook Shire, Upper Hunter Shire, Singleton Shire, part of the City of Cessnock (including Branxton) and all of the City of Maitland north of the Hunter River.

## History

In 1859, Upper Hunter replaced the Electoral district of Phillip, Brisbane and Bligh, established in the first Parliament in 1856. It had two members from 1880 to 1894. It was abolished in 1894 and largely replaced by Robertson and Singleton. In 1904 Robertson was abolished and Upper Hunter was recreated. It was abolished from 1920 with the introduction of proportional representation, but was recreated in 1927.
Upper Hunter is one of three electorates to have never been held by the Labor Party and always by the conservative side of politics since the abolition of proportional representation in 1927, the other two being Tamworth and Oxley. The Nationals have held the district without interruption since 1931.

## Members for Upper Hunter
### First incarnation 1856–1894

1859–1880, 1 member :
| Member | Party | Term |
| John Robertson | None | 1859–1861 |
| Thomas Dangar | None | 1861–1864 |
| James White | None | 1864–1868 |
| Archibald Bell | None | 1868–1872 |
| John Creed | None | 1872–1874 |
| Francis White | None | 1874–1875 |
| Thomas Hungerford | None | 1875–1875 |
| John McElhone | None | 1875–1880 |
1880–1894, 2 members :
| Member | Party | Term | Member | Party | Term |
| John McLaughlin | None | 1880–1885 | John McElhone | None | 1880–1885 |
| Robert Fitzgerald | None | 1885–1887 | Thomas Hungerford | None | 1885–1887 |
| Robert Fitzgerald | Free Trade | 1887–1889 | John McElhone | Free Trade | 1887–1889 |
| Robert Fitzgerald | Protectionist | 1889–1894 | William Abbott | Protectionist | 1889–1891 |
| Robert Fitzgerald | Protectionist | 1889–1894 | Thomas Williams | Labor | 1891–1894 |

### Second incarnation 1904–1920

1904–1920, 1 member :
| Member | Party | Term |
| William Fleming | Liberal Reform | 1904–1910 |
| William Ashford | Labor | 1910–1910 |
| Henry Willis | Liberal Reform | 1910–1913 |
| Henry Willis | Independent Liberal | 1913–1913 |
| Mac Abbott | Liberal Reform | 1913–1917 |
| Mac Abbott | Nationalist | 1917–1918 |
| William Cameron | Nationalist | 1918–1920 |

### Third incarnation 1927–present

1927–present, 1 member :
| Member | Party | Term |
| William Cameron | Nationalist | 1927–1931 |
| Malcolm Brown | Independent Country | 1931–1932 |
| Malcolm Brown | Country | 1932–1939 |
| D'Arcy Rose | Country | 1939–1959 |
| Leon Punch | Country | 1959–1962 |
| Frank O'Keefe | Country | 1962–1969 |
| Col Fisher | Country, National | 1970–1988 |
| George Souris | National | 1988–2015 |
| Michael Johnsen | National | 2015–2021 |
| Dave Layzell | National | 2021–present |

## Election results

2023 New South Wales state election: Upper Hunter :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | Dave Layzell | 19,868 | 37.0 | +7.6 |
| | Labor | Peree Watson | 15,488 | 28.9 | −2.0 |
| | Shooters, Fishers, Farmers | James White | 6,302 | 11.7 | −7.3 |
| | Independent | Dale McNamara | 5,190 | 9.7 | +9.7 |
| | Greens | Tony Lonergan | 3,207 | 6.0 | +0.5 |
| | Legalise Cannabis | Tom Lillicrap | 2,743 | 5.1 | +5.1 |
| | Sustainable Australia | Calum Blair | 862 | 1.6 | +1.6 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 53,660 | 96.6 | +0.1 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,871 | 3.4 | −0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,531 | 89.2 | −2.5 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | National | Dave Layzell | 22,964 | 53.8 | +3.3 |
| | Labor | Peree Watson | 19,732 | 46.2 | −3.3 |
| | National hold | National hold | Swing | +3.3 | |