# Division of Riverina

The Division of Riverina (/rɪvəˈriːnə/) is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.
It includes the city of Wagga Wagga.

## Geography

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.

## History

The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election, although it was abolished between 1984 and 1993, so has not been contested at every federal election. The division was named after the Riverina region in which it is located, though its modern borders do not correspond exactly with the Riverina region. The division covers a primarily agricultural, rural area with many small towns.
In the 1984 redistribution, the division was abolished and replaced by Riverina-Darling, but in the 1993 redistribution it was re-created.
Since its re-creation in 1993, it has been a safe Nationals seat. Its first incarnation tilted toward the Nationals' predecessor, the Country Party, for much of its history, but was occasionally taken by Labor during high-tide elections. It was fairly marginal for most of the 1970s and early 1980s, when it included the strongly pro-Labor mining towns of Broken Hill and Cobar which have now been transferred to Parkes.
The division is located in South-West rural New South Wales, generally following the Murrumbidgee River valley. It includes the larger city of Wagga Wagga, as well as the towns of Cowra, Forbes, Junee, Cootamundra, Temora, West Wyalong, Young, Tumut and Gundagai. The Sturt Highway runs along the length of the division, and it contains a large section of the Newell Highway.
The Division of Riverina also contains the major town of Parkes which has the same name as the bordering Division of Parkes.
The seat has previously been held by Al Grassby, Minister for Immigration in the Whitlam government. The current Member for Riverina, since the 2010 federal election, is Michael McCormack, former Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party of Australia from 2018 to 2021.

## Members

First incarnation (1901–1984) :
| | Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes |
| | | John Chanter (1845–1931) | Protectionist | 29 March 1901 – 16 December 1903 | Previously held the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Deniliquin. Lost seat |
| | | Robert Blackwood (1861–1940) | Free Trade | 16 December 1903 – 13 April 1904 | 1903 election results declared void. Lost seat in subsequent by-election |
| | | John Chanter (1845–1931) | Protectionist | 18 May 1904 – 26 May 1909 | Lost seat |
| | | John Chanter (1845–1931) | Labor | 26 May 1909 – 31 May 1913 | Lost seat |
| | | Franc Falkiner (1867–1929) | Liberal | 31 May 1913 – 5 September 1914 | Lost seat. Later elected to the Division of Hume in 1917 |
| | | John Chanter (1845–1931) | Labor | 5 September 1914 – 14 November 1916 | Lost seat |
| | | John Chanter (1845–1931) | National Labor | 14 November 1916 – 17 February 1917 | Lost seat |
| | | John Chanter (1845–1931) | Nationalist | 17 February 1917 – 16 December 1922 | Lost seat |
| | | William Killen (1860–1939) | Country | 16 December 1922 – 27 November 1931 | Retired |
| | | Horace Nock (1879–1958) | Country | 19 December 1931 – 21 September 1940 | Lost seat |
| | | Joe Langtry (1880–1951) | Labor | 21 September 1940 – 10 December 1949 | Lost seat |
| | | Hugh Roberton (1900–1987) | Country | 10 December 1949 – 21 January 1965 | Served as minister under Menzies. Resigned to become Australian Ambassador to Ireland |
| | | Bill Armstrong (1909–1982) | Country | 27 February 1965 – 25 October 1969 | Lost seat |
| | | Al Grassby (1926–2005) | Labor | 25 October 1969 – 18 May 1974 | Served as minister under Whitlam. Lost seat |
| | | John Sullivan (1929–) | Country | 18 May 1974 – 2 May 1975 | Lost seat. Later elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Sturt in 1981 |
| | | John Sullivan (1929–) | National Country | 2 May 1975 – 10 December 1977 | Lost seat. Later elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Sturt in 1981 |
| | | John FitzPatrick (1915–1997) | Labor | 10 December 1977 – 19 September 1980 | Previously held the Division of Darling. Retired |
| | | Noel Hicks (1940–) | National Country | 18 October 1980 – 16 October 1982 | Transferred to the Division of Riverina-Darling after Riverina was abolished in 1984 |
| | | Noel Hicks (1940–) | Nationals | 16 October 1982 – 1 December 1984 | Transferred to the Division of Riverina-Darling after Riverina was abolished in 1984 |
| Second incarnation (1993–present) ||||||
| | Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes |
| | | Noel Hicks (1940–) | Nationals | 13 March 1993 – 31 August 1998 | Previously held the Division of Riverina-Darling. Retired |
| | | Kay Hull (1954–) | Nationals | 3 October 1998 – 19 July 2010 | Retired |
| | | Michael McCormack (1964–) | Nationals | 21 August 2010 – present | Served as minister and Deputy Prime Minister under Turnbull and Morrison. Incumbent |

## Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Riverina :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National | Michael McCormack | 45,951 | 46.57 | −13.36 |
| | Labor | Mark Jeffreson | 20,193 | 20.47 | −2.69 |
| | One Nation | Richard Orchard | 8,042 | 8.15 | +8.15 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dean McCrae | 6,563 | 6.65 | +6.65 |
| | Greens | Michael Organ | 6,349 | 6.43 | +0.23 |
| | Shooters, Fishers, Farmers | Steve Karaitiana | 6,280 | 6.37 | +6.37 |
| | Independent | Darren Ciavarella | 2,701 | 2.74 | +2.74 |
| | United Australia | Daniel Martelozzo | 2,585 | 2.62 | −8.09 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 98,664 | 92.68 | −2.16 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 7,794 | 7.32 | +2.16 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 106,458 | 91.75 | −1.64 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | National | Michael McCormack | 63,979 | 64.85 | −4.63 |
| | Labor | Mark Jeffreson | 34,685 | 35.15 | +4.63 |
| | National hold | National hold | Swing | −4.63 | |