The Division of Mitchell is an Australian Electoral Division in the state

States and territories of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...

 of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. It is located in the north-west suburbs of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, and includes the entire suburbs of Baulkham Hills, Beaumont Hills

Beaumont Hills, New South Wales

Beaumont Hills is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Beaumont Hills is located 40 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the The Hills Shire...

, Bella Vista

Bella Vista, New South Wales

Bella Vista is a suburb of north-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bella Vista is located 33 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the The Hills Shire. Bella Vista is part of the Greater Western Sydney region and the Hills...

, Box Hill

Box Hill, New South Wales

Box Hill is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Box Hill is located 42 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire and part of the Hills District region....

, Kellyville

Kellyville, New South Wales

Kellyville is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kellyville is located 36 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire, part of the Hills District region.-History:...

, Nelson

Nelson, New South Wales

Nelson is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Nelson is located 42 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire and is part of the Hills District.-External links:...

 and Winston Hills

Winston Hills, New South Wales

Winston Hills is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Winston Hills is located 28 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta and the Greater Western Sydney region....

. The division also includes parts of Castle Hill

Castle Hill, New South Wales

Castle Hill is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castle Hill is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Hills District of the Greater Western Sydney region...

, North Rocks

North Rocks, New South Wales

North Rocks is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. North Rocks is located 26 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire, in the Hills District.-History:...

, Northmead

Northmead, New South Wales

Northmead is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Northmead is located 26 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Parramatta and The Hills Shire...

, Maraylya

Maraylya, New South Wales

Maraylya is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Maraylya is located 43 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire and the City of Hawkesbury. The western part of Maraylya is proned to flooding after heavy...

, Rouse Hill and West Pennant Hills.

The Division is named after Major Thomas Mitchell, surveyor and explorer who was the first European to explore large areas of New South Wales and Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

. The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of May 11, 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 Federal election

Australian federal election, 1949

Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...

. The majority of the electorate is fairly conservative, with the seat currently safe for the Liberal

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

. However the most southern suburbs of Winston Hills and Northmead located in the Parramatta LGA

City of Parramatta

The City of Parramatta is a Local Government Area in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.Initially in 1861 it was formed as Municipality of Parramatta...

 possess bellweather tendencies and have been won by Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 at high-tide elections such as at the 2007 federal election.

The current member is Alex Hawke

Alex Hawke

Alexander George "Alex" Hawke MP , an Australian politician, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing Mitchell, in north-western metropolitan Sydney, for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2007...

, the deputy chair of the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Roy Wheeler	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1949 Australian federal election, 1949 Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced... –1961
	John Armitage John Armitage John Lindsay Armitage, OAM was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney, he was educated at Sydney Technical High School before undergoing military service from 1942 to 1945...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1961 Australian federal election, 1961 Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 December 1961. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 31 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election... –1963
	Leslie Irwin Leslie Irwin Leslie Herbert Irwin, CBE was an Australian politician. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, he was educated at state schools and underwent military service 1916-30. Upon the end of his service, he became a bank manager. In 1961, he was selected as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Mitchell in...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1963–1972
	Alfred Ashley-Brown Alfred Ashley-Brown Alfred Ashley-Brown was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney, he was a company director, and served in the military 1942-45. A member of Blacktown City Council, he was the mayor from 1961–65 and 1968-71. In 1972, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for...	Labor Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...	1972 Australian federal election, 1972 Federal elections were held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The Liberal Party of Australia had been in power since 1949, under Prime Minister of Australia William McMahon since March 1971 with coalition partner the Country Party... –1974
	Alan Cadman Alan Cadman Alan Glyndwr Cadman, AM , Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from 18 May 1974 to 17 October 2007, representing the Division of Mitchell, New South Wales....	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	1974 Australian federal election, 1974 Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution... –2007
	Alex Hawke Alex Hawke Alexander George "Alex" Hawke MP , an Australian politician, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing Mitchell, in north-western metropolitan Sydney, for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2007...	Liberal Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...	2007–present

Election results