# Division of Groom

The Division of Groom is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland.
Groom is an agricultural electorate located on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. It includes the regional city of Toowoomba and rural communities to the west and south.
The current MP is Garth Hamilton, a member of the Liberal 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

The division was created in 1984 as essentially a reconfigured version of the old Division of Darling Downs, which had existed since Federation. It is named in honour of Sir Littleton Groom, who represented Darling Downs with only one short break from 1901 to 1936 and served as Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.
It is located in the rural areas west of Brisbane and is centred on the city of Toowoomba, Australia's second largest inland city. Other centres include Oakey and Pittsworth.
Groom's electors have historically been socially conservative. In 2017, it was one of only three electorates in Queensland to vote against the Marriage Survey. However, sentiment is shifting. The 2022 federal election showed a strong increase in votes for independent candidates, with the two-candidate preferred result indicating local independent candidate, Suzie Holt, securing 41.33% of the vote, following distribution of preferences. Issues such as the cost of living and housing affordability are current priorities among voters. The local Liberal MP, Garth Hamilton, has consistenly voted against housing affordability. Mr Hamilton voted against the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023, the Build to Rent program 2024, and the Help to Buy Bill 2023. Mr Hamilton has also voted against increasing funding for university education, which has negatively impacted the local University of Southern Queensland, and its students. Mr Hamilton also voted against making TAFE education fee-free, negatively impacting education, trades, and skill development in the Toowoomba region. https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/groom/garth_hamilton

## Members

| Member | Party | Term | Notes |
| Tom McVeigh (1930–) | Nationals | 1 December 1984 – 29 February 1988 | Previously held the Division of Darling Downs. Resigned to retire from politics. Son is John McVeigh |
| Bill Taylor (1938–) | Liberal | 9 April 1988 – 31 August 1998 | Retired |
| Ian Macfarlane (1955–) | Liberal | 3 October 1998 – 9 May 2016 | Served as minister under Howard and Abbott. Retired |
| John McVeigh (1965–) | Liberal | 2 July 2016 – 18 September 2020 | Previously held the Legislative Assembly of Queensland seat of Toowoomba South. Served as minister under Turnbull. Resigned to retire from politics. Father is Tom McVeigh |
| Garth Hamilton (1979–) | Liberal | 28 November 2020 – present | Incumbent |

## Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Groom :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal National | Garth Hamilton | 41,971 | 43.72 | −9.62 |
| | Labor | Gen Allpass | 17,985 | 18.73 | +0.07 |
| | One Nation | Grant Abraham | 9,181 | 9.56 | −3.53 |
| | Independent | Suzie Holt | 7,932 | 8.26 | +8.26 |
| | Independent | Kirstie Smolenski | 6,858 | 7.14 | +7.14 |
| | Greens | Mickey Berry | 5,616 | 5.85 | −2.11 |
| | United Australia | Melissa Bannister | 4,922 | 5.13 | +1.17 |
| | Federation | Ryan Otto | 1,539 | 1.60 | +1.60 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 96,004 | 95.28 | −1.52 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 4,758 | 4.72 | +1.52 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 100,762 | 90.88 | −2.17 |
| Notional two-party-preferred count ||||||
| | Liberal National | Garth Hamilton | 61,610 | 64.17 | −6.31 |
| | Labor | Gen Allpass | 34,394 | 35.83 | +6.31 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal National | Garth Hamilton | 54,612 | 56.89 | N/A |
| | Independent | Suzie Holt | 41,392 | 43.11 | N/A |
| | Liberal National hold | Liberal National hold | | | |
    Liberal
    National