# Division of Indi

The Division of Indi (/ˈɪndaɪ/ IN-dye) is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division is located in the north-east of the state, adjoining the border with New South Wales. The largest settlements in the division are the regional cities of Wodonga, Wangaratta, and Benalla. Other towns in the electorate include Rutherglen, Mansfield, Beechworth, Myrtleford, Bright, Alexandra, Tallangatta, Corryong and a number of other small villages (including the ski resort of Falls Creek). While Indi is one of the largest electorates in Victoria, much of it is located within the largely uninhabited Australian Alps. While Wodonga serves as a regional hub for much of the more heavily populated northern part of the electorate, the southern part is closer to Melbourne than Wodonga.
The current member for Indi, since the 2019 federal election, is independent Helen Haines.

## 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

Indi has existed continuously since Federation. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions contested at the first federal election. The most nationally prominent person to have represented Indi was the first, Sir Isaac Isaacs, who rose to become Attorney-General of Australia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, and the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia. Another member for Indi, John "Black Jack" McEwen, was a long-serving Minister and was briefly Prime Minister of Australia after the death of Harold Holt in 1967, although he was the member for Murray by then.
Indi has been held by a member of a conservative party (either the Liberal Party and its predecessors or the National Party) or a conservative independent for all but four terms, and without interruption since 1931. Labor last won the seat in 1928 when the Country incumbent forgot to renominate, and retained the seat in 1929. Since 2004, the Liberal primary vote has been in decline, falling from 63% in 2004, to 54% in 2007, 53% in 2010, 44% in 2013 and 27% in 2016. In 2019, the Liberal primary vote rose slightly to 35% before falling again, in 2022, to 31%.
At the 2013 election, independent Cathy McGowan unseated Liberal Party incumbent Sophie Mirabella, the only incumbent Liberal MP to lose their seat at that election. It was considered a major upset, because Mirabella had won the previous election with a two-party-preferred vote of almost 60 percent, which is considered more than fairly safe.
McGowan retained Indi against Mirabella at the 2016 election, with an increased 54.8% (+4.6) two-candidate-preferred vote. The Liberal two-party-preferred vote was reduced to 54.4% (–4.7) against Labor's 45.6% (+4.7), a marginal two-party-preferred result not seen since the 1929 election.
McGowan retired in 2019 and was succeeded by fellow independent, Helen Haines, who incurred a swing of four percent to the Liberals, compared with McGowan's 2016 vote, and was elected on Labor preferences.

## Members

| Member | Party | Term | Notes |
| Isaac Isaacs (1855–1948) | Protectionist | 29 March 1901 – 12 October 1906 | Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Bogong. Served as minister under Deakin. Resigned to become a Justice of the High Court |
| Joseph Brown (1844–1925) | Anti-Socialist | 12 December 1906 – 26 May 1909 | Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Shepparton and Euroa. Lost seat |
| Joseph Brown (1844–1925) | Liberal | 26 May 1909 – 13 April 1910 | Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Shepparton and Euroa. Lost seat |
| Parker Moloney (1879–1961) | Labor | 13 April 1910 – 31 May 1913 | Lost seat |
| Cornelius Ahern (1871–1955) | Liberal | 31 May 1913 – 5 September 1914 | Lost seat |
| Parker Moloney (1879–1961) | Labor | 5 September 1914 – 5 May 1917 | Lost seat. Later elected to the division of Hume in 1919 |
| John Leckie (1872–1947) | Nationalist | 5 May 1917 – 13 December 1919 | Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Benambra. Lost seat. Later elected to the Senate in 1934 |
| Robert Cook (1867–1930) | Victorian Farmers' Union | 13 December 1919 – 22 January 1920 | Did not contest in 1928 after mistakenly failing to lodge renomination papers in time |
| Robert Cook (1867–1930) | Country | 22 January 1920 – 9 October 1928 | Did not contest in 1928 after mistakenly failing to lodge renomination papers in time |
| Paul Jones (1878–1972) | Labor | 17 November 1928 – 19 December 1931 | Lost seat. Later elected to the Victorian Legislative Council in 1937 |
| William Hutchinson (1904–1967) | United Australia | 19 December 1931 – 23 October 1937 | Transferred to the Division of Deakin |
| John McEwen (1900–1980) | Country | 23 October 1937 – 10 December 1949 | Previously held the Division of Echuca. Served as minister under Lyons, Page, Menzies and Fadden. Transferred to the Division of Murray |
| William Bostock (1892–1968) | Liberal | 10 December 1949 – 22 November 1958 | Lost seat |
| Mac Holten (1922–1996) | Country | 22 November 1958 – 2 May 1975 | Served as minister under Gorton and McMahon. Lost seat |
| Mac Holten (1922–1996) | National Country | 2 May 1975 – 10 December 1977 | Served as minister under Gorton and McMahon. Lost seat |
| Ewen Cameron (1930–) | Liberal | 10 December 1977 – 8 February 1993 | Retired |
| Lou Lieberman (1938–2024) | Liberal | 13 March 1993 – 8 October 2001 | Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Benambra. Retired |
| Sophie Mirabella (1968–) | Liberal | 10 November 2001 – 7 September 2013 | Lost seat |
| Cathy McGowan (1953–) | Independent | 7 September 2013 – 11 April 2019 | Retired |
| Helen Haines (1961–) | Independent | 18 May 2019 – present | Incumbent |

## Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Indi :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Helen Haines | 41,319 | 40.68 | +8.33 |
| | Liberal | Ross Lyman | 30,995 | 30.52 | −4.57 |
| | Labor | Nadia David | 8,723 | 8.59 | −3.50 |
| | One Nation | Beth Stevens | 5,366 | 5.28 | +5.28 |
| | National | Liz Fisher | 3,854 | 3.79 | −5.66 |
| | Greens | Benjamin Gilbert | 3,626 | 3.57 | −0.64 |
| | United Australia | Stephen Williams | 2,558 | 2.52 | −1.42 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Julian Fidge | 2,300 | 2.26 | +2.26 |
| | Animal Justice | Angel Aleksov | 1,749 | 1.72 | +1.72 |
| | Justice | Lachlan O'Connell | 1,074 | 1.06 | −1.80 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 101,564 | 94.53 | −1.11 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 5,880 | 5.47 | +1.11 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 107,444 | 91.48 | −2.88 |
| Notional two-party-preferred count ||||||
| | Liberal | Ross Lyman | 56,123 | 55.26 | −7.47 |
| | Labor | Nadia David | 45,441 | 44.74 | +7.47 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Independent | Helen Haines | 59,861 | 58.94 | +7.55 |
| | Liberal | Ross Lyman | 41,703 | 41.06 | −7.55 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | +7.55 | |