# Division of Corangamite

The Division of Corangamite (/kəˈræŋɡəmaɪt/) is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. It is named for Lake Corangamite, although the lake no longer falls within the division's boundaries.
The division was redrawn in 2021, becoming a much smaller seat due to increased population growth. It now covers 1,506 square kilometres (581 sq mi) (down from 5,441 square kilometres (2,101 sq mi)) along the Victorian coast, including the growing surf coast area, the southern suburbs of Geelong as well as rural areas to the west. Starting at Queenscliff in the east, the electorate takes in the entire Bellarine Peninsula, then runs down the surf coast as far as Bells Beach. The electorate then extends north into the Golden Plains Shire, where it includes the towns of Bannockburn, and Inverleigh.
Since the 2019 federal election, the current Member for Corangamite is Libby Coker, a member of the Australian Labor Party.

## 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

Until the 1930s it was usually a marginal seat which leaned toward the conservative parties, but was won by the Australian Labor Party during high-tide elections. In 1918, it was the first seat won by what would become the Country Party.
It was held by the Liberals (and their immediate predecessor, the United Australia Party) without interruption from 1934 to 2007. A reasonably safe seat for most of the time from the 1950s to the 1990s, it became increasingly less safe from 1998 onward as successive redistributions pushed it further into Geelong. This resulted in the seat falling to Darren Cheeseman, the Labor candidate, by less than one percent at the 2007 federal election for the first time since 1929. Cheeseman was only the third Labor member ever to win the seat. Labor retained the seat in 2010 election against former journalist Sarah Henderson, making Cheeseman the first Labor MP to win re-election in the seat. Henderson sought a rematch in 2013, and won.
Henderson retained her seat in 2016 but a redistribution completed prior to the 2019 election pushed the seat further into Geelong. This resulted in the seat becoming notionally Labor, albeit with a very narrow margin. As Henderson failed to gain a swing towards her at the election, she lost the seat to the Labor candidate, Libby Coker. Coker's win in 2019 was historically significant, as it marked the first time that the non-Labor parties had been in government without holding Corangamite.
In 2018, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) published its report on the proposed redistribution of Victoria's federal divisions. The report proposed renaming Corangamite to Cox, after swimming instructor May Cox. Incumbent MP Sarah Henderson said the new name "has already prompted some ridicule on social media", due to "Cox" being a homophone of "cocks". In the commission's final determination, the decision was made to retain the name of Corangamite. In 2021, the AEC again proposed to rename Corangamite, this time to Tucker after Aboriginal activist Margaret Tucker, however in the final determination, the renaming proposal was also abandoned over concerns that the name would be vandalised as "Fucker". In the same 2021 redistribution, the seat was shrunk even further towards Geelong, losing its western half to the adjacent seat of Wannon and the north to Ballarat.
In July 2021, City of Greater Geelong Mayor and Bellarine Ward Councillor Stephanie Asher was preselected as the Liberal candidate for Corangamite. However, Coker won a second term with 57 percent of the two-party vote, a swing of six percent. This was the strongest showing for Labor in the seat’s history.
In 2024, it was proposed that the seat be shrunk further towards Geelong and lose its western half to Corio and Wannon. Between the 2010 and 2021 redistributions, the seat has shrunk from 7,624 km$^2$ (2,944 sq mi) to 1,506 km$^2$ (581 sq mi), an approximately 80% decrease in size and will further shrink if and when the 2024 redistribution is finalised.
Prominent members of the seat have included James Scullin, who later became the Prime Minister of Australia in 1929-32; Fraser government Minister Tony Street and longtime Liberal backbencher Stewart McArthur.

## Members

| Member | Party | Term | Notes |
| Chester Manifold (1867–1918) | Protectionist | 29 March 1901 – 23 November 1903 | Retired |
| John Gratton Wilson (1863–1948) | Free Trade | 16 December 1903 – 1906 | Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Villiers and Heytesbury. Lost seat |
| John Gratton Wilson (1863–1948) | Anti-Socialist | 1906 – 26 May 1909 | Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Villiers and Heytesbury. Lost seat |
| John Gratton Wilson (1863–1948) | Liberal | 26 May 1909 – 13 April 1910 | Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Villiers and Heytesbury. Lost seat |
| James Scullin (1876–1953) | Labor | 13 April 1910 – 31 May 1913 | Lost seat. Later elected to the Division of Yarra in 1922 |
| Chester Manifold (1867–1918) | Liberal | 31 May 1913 – 17 February 1917 | Died in office |
| Chester Manifold (1867–1918) | Nationalist | 17 February 1917 – 30 October 1918 | Died in office |
| William Gibson (1869–1955) | Victorian Farmers' Union | 14 December 1918 – 22 January 1920 | Served as minister under Bruce. Lost seat |
| William Gibson (1869–1955) | Country | 22 January 1920 – 12 October 1929 | Served as minister under Bruce. Lost seat |
| Richard Crouch (1868–1949) | Labor | 12 October 1929 – 19 December 1931 | Previously held the Division of Corio. Lost seat |
| William Gibson (1869–1955) | Country | 19 December 1931 – 7 August 1934 | Transferred to the Senate |
| Geoffrey Street (1894–1940) | United Australia | 15 September 1934 – 13 August 1940 | Served as minister under Lyons, Page and Menzies. Died in office. Son is Tony Street |
| Allan McDonald (1888–1953) | United Australia | 21 September 1940 – 21 February 1945 | Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Polwarth. Served as minister under Menzies and Fadden. Died in office |
| Allan McDonald (1888–1953) | Liberal | 21 February 1945 – 10 June 1953 | Previously held the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Polwarth. Served as minister under Menzies and Fadden. Died in office |
| Dan Mackinnon (1903–1983) | Liberal | 29 August 1953 – 31 October 1966 | Previously held the Division of Wannon. Retired |
| Tony Street (1926–2022) | Liberal | 26 November 1966 – 18 January 1984 | Served as minister under Fraser. Resigned to retire from politics. Father was Geoffrey Street |
| Stewart McArthur (1937–) | Liberal | 18 February 1984 – 24 November 2007 | Lost seat |
| Darren Cheeseman (1976–) | Labor | 24 November 2007 – 7 September 2013 | Lost seat. Later elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of South Barwon in 2018 |
| Sarah Henderson (1964–) | Liberal | 7 September 2013 – 18 May 2019 | Lost seat. Later appointed to the Senate in 2019 |
| Libby Coker (1962–) | Labor | 18 May 2019 – present | Incumbent |

## Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Corangamite :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | Libby Coker | 38,573 | 38.20 | +2.41 |
| | Liberal | Stephanie Asher | 34,463 | 34.13 | −8.26 |
| | Greens | Alex Marshall | 15,349 | 15.20 | +6.49 |
| | United Australia | Daniel Abou-Zeid | 3,233 | 3.20 | +1.02 |
| | One Nation | Luke Sorensen | 2,548 | 2.52 | +2.52 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Barker | 2,526 | 2.50 | +2.50 |
| | Animal Justice | Meg Watkins | 1,986 | 1.97 | −0.17 |
| | Justice | Jean-Marie D'Argent | 1,421 | 1.41 | −1.22 |
| | Federation | Stephen Juhasz | 868 | 0.86 | +0.86 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 100,967 | 96.11 | +0.06 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 4,088 | 3.89 | −0.06 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 105,055 | 93.26 | +1.01 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Labor | Libby Coker | 58,160 | 57.60 | +6.55 |
| | Liberal | Stephanie Asher | 42,807 | 42.40 | −6.55 |
| | Labor hold | Labor hold | Swing | +6.55 | |