Division of Dickson
| Dickson Australian House of Representatives Division | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of boundaries since the 2019 federal election | |
| Created | 1992 |
| MP | Ali France |
| Party | Labor |
| Namesake | Sir James Dickson |
| Electors | 119,401 (2025) |
| Area | 724 km2 (279.5 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Outer metropolitan |
The Division of Dickson is an Australian electoral division in Queensland. The incumbent MP is Ali France. A member of the Labor Party, she defeated incumbent MP and Liberal Party Leader Peter Dutton in the 2025 federal election.
Dickson includes the suburbs of Kurwongbah, Petrie, Strathpine, Bunya, Arana Hills, Albany Creek, Eatons Hill, Samford, Samford Valley, Dayboro, McDowall, Ferny Hills, Everton Hills and Murrumba Downs. The electorate also includes Lake Samsonvale and Lake Kurwongbah and covers 724 square kilometres.[1]
History
[edit]
 |
The division was formed in 1992 and is named after Sir James Dickson, a leading advocate in Australian Federation, Premier of Queensland and Minister for Defence in the first Australian ministry.
1993 election
[edit]There was an unusual circumstance at the 1993 election. The seat had been carved out of most of the Brisbane portion of the Sunshine Coast-based seat of Fisher, making it a natural choice for that seat's Labor MP, Michael Lavarch, to transfer ahead of the 1993 election.
However, one of the candidates, an independent, died very shortly before the election, making it necessary to hold a standalone supplementary election on 17 April (the rest of the country had already voted on 13 March). Following Labor's reelection, the Prime Minister Paul Keating announced the makeup of the Second Keating ministry to be sworn in on 24 March, but kept the portfolio of Attorney-General open for Lavarch subject to him winning Dickson on 17 April. He won the seat, and was appointed to the ministry on 27 April.
2025 election
[edit]Peter Dutton lost the seat at the 2025 federal election to three-time challenger Ali France, who previously contested the seat at the 2019 and 2022 elections.[2] Dutton lost over seven percent of his primary vote from 2022 and was defeated on a swing of 7.7 percent after all preferences were distributed.[3][4] He is the first federal party leader to lose his own seat since John Howard lost his electorate of Bennelong at the 2007 federal election, and the first sitting opposition leader since Federation to lose his own seat in parliament.
Boundaries
[edit]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.[5]
The division is located in the outer north-western suburbs of Brisbane. The 2006 redistribution added the Shire of Esk to and removed part of Kallangur from the seat. It has historically been a marginal seat, changing hands between the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party.[citation needed]
Members
[edit]| Image | Member | Party | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Michael Lavarch (1961–) |
Labor | 17 April 1993 – 2 March 1996 |
Previously held the Division of Fisher. Served as minister under Paul Keating. Lost seat | |
|
Tony Smith (1950–) |
Liberal | 2 March 1996 – 26 May 1998 |
Lost seat | |
| Independent | 26 May 1998 – 3 October 1998 | ||||
|
|
Cheryl Kernot (1948–) |
Labor | 3 October 1998 – 10 November 2001 |
Previously a member of the Senate. Lost seat | |
|
Peter Dutton (1970–) |
Liberal | 10 November 2001 – 3 May 2025 |
Served as minister under Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison. Served as Opposition Leader from 2022 to 2025. Lost seat | |
|
Ali France (1973–) |
Labor | 3 May 2025 – present |
Incumbent | |
Election results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal National | Peter Dutton | 36,628 | 34.69 | −7.38 | |
| Labor | Ali France | 35,502 | 33.63 | +1.93 | |
| Independent | Ellie Smith | 12,874 | 12.19 | +12.19 | |
| Greens | Vinnie Batten | 8,061 | 7.64 | −5.36 | |
| One Nation | Joel Stevenson | 4,429 | 4.19 | −1.17 | |
| Legalise Cannabis | David Zaloudek | 2,950 | 2.79 | +2.79 | |
| Family First | Suniti Hewett | 2,299 | 2.18 | +2.18 | |
| Trumpet of Patriots | Michael Jessop | 1,900 | 1.80 | +1.80 | |
| Animal Justice | Maureen Brohman | 936 | 0.89 | +0.89 | |
| Total formal votes | 105,579 | 95.76 | −0.36 | ||
| Informal votes | 4,676 | 4.24 | +0.36 | ||
| Turnout | 110,255 | 92.34 | +0.99 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Ali France | 59,115 | 55.99 | +7.69 | |
| Liberal National | Peter Dutton | 46,464 | 44.01 | −7.69 | |
| Labor gain from Liberal National | Swing | +7.69 | |||
References
[edit]- ^ "Profile of the electoral division of Dickson (Qld)". Australian Electoral Commission. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ Messenger, Andrew (3 May 2025). "Who is Ali France, the Labor candidate who has unseated Peter Dutton in Dickson?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ Pal, Alasdair (3 May 2025). "Australia opposition leader Dutton loses seat in shock vote defeat". Reuters. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ Dickson, Qld, 2025 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.
- ^ Muller, Damon (14 November 2017). "The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ Dickson, Qld, 2025 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.