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.[1]
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.[2]
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".[3] In the commission's final determination, the decision was made to retain the name of Corangamite.[4] 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".[5] 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 Ballart.[6]
In July 2021, City of Greater Geelong Mayor and Bellairne Ward Councillor Stephanie Asher was preselected as the Liberal candidate for Corangamite.
[7] 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, the seat is proposed to be shrunk again towards Geelong, and will lose its western half to Corio and Wannon.[8] Between the 2010 and 2021 redistributions, the seat has shrunk from 7,624 km2 (2,944 sq mi) to 1,506 km2 (581 sq mi), an approximately 80% decrease in size, and will further shrink when the 2024 redistribution is finalised.[9][10]
Alluvial diagram for preference flows in the seat of Corangamite in the 2022 federal election. Y indicates at what stage the winning candidate had over 50% of the votes and was declared the winner.
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