# Division of Cook

The Division of Cook is an Australian electoral division in the State of New South Wales.

## History

Cook was created in 1969, mostly out of the Liberal-leaning areas of neighbouring Hughes. It was thus a natural choice for that seat's one-term Liberal member, Don Dobie, to transfer after the creation of Cook erased his majority in Hughes. The division was originally named in honour of James Cook, who mapped the east coast of Australia in 1770. In 2006, the Australian Electoral Commission's Redistribution Committee for New South Wales proposed that the division be jointly named for Joseph Cook, Prime Minister of Australia from 1913 to 1914, but this did not eventuate at the time. In 2024, the namesake was finally altered to be joint between both men, to give recognition to Joseph Cook and have a division named after him like other former Prime Ministers.
For most of the first quarter-century of its existence, Cook was a marginal to fairly safe Liberal seat; it has been in Liberal hands for all but two terms. The Liberal majority ballooned with the party's national landslide victory at the 1996 general election, and since then Cook has been a "blue ribbon" safe seat for the Liberal Party. As of the 2019 federal election, it is the safest metropolitan Coalition seat, with a 19-point swing needed for Labor to win it.
The most prominent members were Dobie, who held the seat from its 1969 creation until his retirement in 1996 (with a brief break from 1972 to 1975); Bruce Baird, a former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of New South Wales before his move into Federal politics; and Scott Morrison MP, former Prime Minister of Australia 2018–2022.
In 2007, following news of Baird's impending retirement, the seat attracted significant media attention, thanks to the controversial preselection of Liberal candidate Michael Towke. Allegations surfaced to the effect that Towke had engaged in branch-stacking and had embellished his curriculum vitae; although these allegations were subsequently proven false, the damage was done. In August 2007, Towke was disendorsed as the Liberal candidate and was replaced with Morrison, a former director of the New South Wales Liberal Party. Morrison won the seat at the election.

## Boundaries

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.
The division is located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, including Beverley Park, Burraneer, Caringbah, Caringbah South, Carss Park, Cronulla, Dolans Bay, Dolls Point, Greenhills Beach, Gymea Bay, Kangaroo Point, Kogarah Bay, Kurnell, Kyle Bay, Lilli Pilli, Miranda, Monterey, Port Hacking, Ramsgate, Ramsgate Beach, Sandringham, Sans Souci, Sylvania Waters, Taren Point, Woolooware, and Yowie Bay; as well as parts of Blakehurst, Connells Point, Gymea, Kogarah, and Sylvania.

## Members

| Member | Party | Term | Notes |
| Don Dobie (1927–1996) | Liberal | 25 October 1969 – 2 December 1972 | Previously held the Division of Hughes. Lost seat |
| Ray Thorburn (1930–1986) | Labor | 2 December 1972 – 13 December 1975 | Lost seat |
| Don Dobie (1927–1996) | Liberal | 13 December 1975 – 29 January 1996 | Retired |
| Stephen Mutch (1956–) | Liberal | 2 March 1996 – 31 August 1998 | Previously a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Lost preselection and retired |
| Bruce Baird (1942–) | Liberal | 3 October 1998 – 17 October 2007 | Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Northcott. Retired |
| Scott Morrison (1968–) | Liberal | 24 November 2007 – 28 February 2024 | Served as minister under Abbott and Turnbull. Served as Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022. Resigned to retire from politics |
| Simon Kennedy (1982–) | Liberal | 13 April 2024 - present | Incumbent |

## Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Cook :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Scott Morrison | 54,322 | 55.53 | −8.17 |
| | Labor | Simon Earle | 24,444 | 24.99 | +1.89 |
| | Greens | Catherine Dyson | 9,685 | 9.90 | +3.09 |
| | One Nation | Gaye Cameron | 4,985 | 5.10 | +1.61 |
| | United Australia | Jacqueline Guinane | 4,381 | 4.48 | +3.27 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 97,817 | 95.60 | +1.73 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 4,498 | 4.40 | −1.73 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 102,315 | 92.83 | −0.82 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal | Scott Morrison | 61,080 | 62.44 | −6.58 |
| | Labor | Simon Earle | 36,737 | 37.56 | +6.58 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −6.58 | |
On 16 April 2024 the Australian Electoral Commission declared Simon Kennedy officially elected as the new member for Cook.
2024 Cook by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Simon Kennedy | 53,799 | 62.67 | +7.14 |
| | Greens | Martin Moore | 14,120 | 16.45 | +6.55 |
| | Animal Justice | Natasha Brown | 5,841 | 6.80 | +6.80 |
| | Libertarian | Vinay Kolhatkar | 5,117 | 5.96 | +5.96 |
| | Independent | Roger Woodward | 4,920 | 5.73 | +5.73 |
| | Sustainable Australia | Simone Gagatam | 2,054 | 2.39 | +2.39 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 85,851 | 93.24 | −2.36 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 6,225 | 6.76 | +2.36 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 92,076 | 82.28 | −10.99 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal | Simon Kennedy | 61,169 | 71.25 | +8.81 |
| | Greens | Martin Moore | 24,682 | 28.75 | +28.75 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | | | |