The Division of Blair is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. The division was created in 1998 and is named after Harold Blair

Harold Blair

Harold Blair AM was an Australian tenor and Aboriginal activist.- Early life :Blair was born at the Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve, 5 km from Murgon in Queensland. His mother was Esther Quinn, a teenage Aboriginal woman. His surname, Blair, came from the family that had "adopted" his mother...

, an Aboriginal singer and civil rights

Civil rights

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...

 campaigner. The Division is based in the rural areas west of Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

 and includes parts of Ipswich

Ipswich, Queensland

Ipswich is a city in South-East Queensland, Australia. Situated along the Bremer River Valley approximately 40 kilometres away from the state's capital Brisbane. The suburb by the same name forms the city's Central Business District and administrative centre...

 and the Scenic Rim and Lockyer Valley regions.

The founder of the One Nation Party

One Nation Party

One Nation is a far-right and nationalist political party in Australia. It gained 22% of the vote translating to 11 of 89 seats in Queensland's unicameral legislative assembly at the 1998 state election and made major inroads into the vote of the existing parties...

, Pauline Hanson

Pauline Hanson

Pauline Lee Hanson is an Australian politician and former leader of Pauline Hanson's One Nation, a political party with a populist and anti-multiculturalism platform...

, contested Blair in 1998, shifting from her previous seat, Oxley

Division of Oxley

The Division of Oxley is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The current division is the second to bear the name, and was created in 1949. The division is named after the Australian explorer, John Oxley...

. To get rid of Hanson, 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...

 and 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...

 preferenced each other, allowing Liberal challenger Cameron Thompson

Cameron Thompson

Cameron Paul Thompson was an Australian politician in Queensland. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Blair from 1998 until 2007.-Early life:...

 to win on the eighth count.

Thompson held the seat without serious difficulty in the next two elections, and it was widely reckoned as a safe Liberal seat. In the 2006 redistribution, the 2004 Liberal margin of 11.2% was reduced to 5.7%, as Esk

Esk, Queensland

Esk is a town in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, approximately 90 km northwest of Ipswich on the Brisbane Valley Highway. It was named after the River Esk in Scotland and England. It is the administrative centre of the Somerset Region...

, Nanango

Nanango, Queensland

Nanango is a town in the South Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. It is the fourth oldest town in Queensland. At the 2006 census, Nanango had a population of 3,083. It is situated north-west of the state capital, Brisbane...

 and Kingaroy

Kingaroy, Queensland

Kingaroy is an agricultural town in Queensland, Australia, approximately or about 2½ hours drive north-west of the state capital Brisbane. The town is situated on the junction of the D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highways...

 were removed and more of Ipswich and Boonah

Boonah, Queensland

Boonah is a town in south eastern Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 2,285. The area produces vegetables for the nearby Brisbane Markets notably carrots, potatoes, and cereal crops. Beef, pork and timber are also produced locally.The town is positioned near the...

 were added. Blair had been rated as having received more funding promises from the Howard Government

Howard Government

The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...

 than any other electorate in the country. In the 2007 election, Thompson was defeated by Labor challenger Shayne Neumann

Shayne Neumann

Shayne Kenneth Neumann is an Australian politician. He is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2007, representing the Division of Blair....

, with a 10.2 percent swing to Labor.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Cameron Thompson Cameron Thompson Cameron Paul Thompson was an Australian politician in Queensland. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Blair from 1998 until 2007.-Early life:...	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...	1998–2007
	Shayne Neumann Shayne Neumann Shayne Kenneth Neumann is an Australian politician. He is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2007, representing the Division of Blair....	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...	2007–present

Election results