The Division of McEwen 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 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....

. It is located in the centre of the state, north of the capital city of Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

. It includes the outer northern suburbs of Whittlesea

Whittlesea, Victoria

Whittlesea is a town in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whittlesea. At the 2006 Census, Whittlesea had a population of 4,563.-History:...

, Epping

Epping, Victoria

Epping is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 22 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whittlesea...

, Doreen

Doreen, Victoria

Doreen is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whittlesea and Shire of Nillumbik...

, Mernda

Mernda, Victoria

Mernda is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whittlesea. At the 2006 Census, Mernda had a population of 831.-History:...

, Hurstbridge

Hurstbridge, Victoria

Hurstbridge is a semi-rural town in Victoria, Australia, 26 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, at the junction of Diamond Creek and Arthur's Creek. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik. At the 2006 Census, Hurstbridge had a population of 3448.- History...

 and Diamond Creek

Diamond Creek, Victoria

Diamond Creek is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 23 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Nillumbik...

, and regional centers such as Woodend

Woodend, Victoria

Woodend is a small town in Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Macedon Ranges Local government area. It is bypassed to the east and north by the Calder Freeway and is located about halfway between Melbourne and Bendigo...

, Tooborac

Tooborac, Victoria

Tooborac is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is located north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Tooborac and the surrounding area had a population of 277.Tooborac Post Office opened on 1 January 1872....

, Broadford

Broadford, Victoria

Broadford is a small town in central Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Broadford had a population of 3,054. The town is the headquarters of the Shire of Mitchell Local Government Area and is approximately north of the state capital, Melbourne....

, Seymour

Seymour, Victoria

Seymour is a township in the Shire of Mitchell in the state of Victoria, Australia and is located north of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Seymour had a population of 6,063...

, Yea

Yea, Victoria

Yea is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. Located north-east of Melbourne via the Melba Highway, Yea sits at the junction with the Goulburn Valley Highway, and above sea-level. At the 2006 Census, Yea had a population of 1,052.- History :The...

, Eildon

Eildon, Victoria

Eildon is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located near Lake Eildon, on the Goulburn Valley Highway, in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. At the 2006 Census, Eildon had a population of 1186.-History:...

, Marysville

Marysville, Victoria

Marysville is a small town, 34 kilometres north-east of Healesville, in the Shire of Murrindindi in Victoria, Australia. The town, which previously had a population of around 500 people, was devastated by the Murrindindi Mill bushfire on 7 February 2009. On 19 February 2009 the official death toll...

, Kinglake

Kinglake, Victoria

Kinglake is a town in Victoria, Australia situated in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. At the 2006 Census, Kinglake had a population of 1482...

 and Warburton

Warburton, Victoria

Warburton is a town in Victoria, Australia, 72 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Warburton had a population of 2288....

, on top of many other small towns.

The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 14 September 1984, and was first contested at the 1984 Federal election. It was named after Rt Hon Sir John McEwen

John McEwen

Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...

, leader of the Country Party of Australia

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

, who was appointed caretaker Prime Minister of Australia

Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

 after the disappearance of Harold Holt

Harold Holt

Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...

 in 1967.

The 2007 federal election resulted in McEwen becoming the most marginal seat in the country. Incumbent Liberal MP Fran Bailey

Fran Bailey

Frances Esther "Fran" Bailey is an Australianpolitician and Liberal member of theAustralian House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 2010, representing the electorate of McEwen in Victoria.-Personal life:...

 led throughout most of the initial count, only be initially found to have lost to former Labor state MP Rob Mitchell

Rob Mitchell (Australian politician)

Robert George "Rob" Mitchell is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since August 2010, representing the electorate of McEwen. He was previously a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 2002 to 2006.Mitchell was...

 by six votes. Bailey subsequently requested and was granted a full recount, which resulted in a change in the lead and a twelve-vote victory for Bailey. The result was challenged in the High Court of Australia

High Court of Australia

The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...

 in its capacity as the Court of Disputed Returns

Court of Disputed Returns (Australia)

The Court of Disputed Returns in Australia is a jurisdiction established by Part XXII of the Commonwealth Electoral Act. The jurisdiction is exercised by the High Court of Australia, which can refer cases to the Federal Court...

, and was referred to the Federal Court of Australia

Federal Court of Australia

The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...

. Over seven months after the election and a review of 643 individual votes, the court altered the formal status of several dozen, eventually declaring Bailey the winner by 27 votes. Following the resolution of the long-running dispute, Bailey called for a total overhaul of the voting system.

Members

Member		Party	Term
	Peter Cleeland Peter Cleeland Peter Robert Cleeland , Australian politician, was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the electorate of McEwen in Victoria between 1984 and 1990, and subsequently between 1993 and 1996....	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...	1984–1990
	Fran Bailey Fran Bailey Frances Esther "Fran" Bailey is an Australianpolitician and Liberal member of theAustralian House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 2010, representing the electorate of McEwen in Victoria.-Personal 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...	1990–1993
	Peter Cleeland Peter Cleeland Peter Robert Cleeland , Australian politician, was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the electorate of McEwen in Victoria between 1984 and 1990, and subsequently between 1993 and 1996....	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...	1993–1996
	Fran Bailey Fran Bailey Frances Esther "Fran" Bailey is an Australianpolitician and Liberal member of theAustralian House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 2010, representing the electorate of McEwen in Victoria.-Personal 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...	1996–2010
	Rob Mitchell	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...	2010–present

Election results