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THE POLL BLUDGER LOWE
Bordered to the north by the Parramatta River, Lowe extends from Homebush in the west to Drummoyne in the east. It was created in 1949 from areas covered by the since-abolished Martin and Parkes (the latter bearing no relation to the current rural electorate of that name), and had a very slight notional Labor margin. Liberal newcomer Billy McMahon easily won the seat with a 9.0 per cent swing and retained a fairly comfortable hold as he made his way to the position of Treasurer, being seriously troubled only in 1961 when the margin fell to 0.9 per cent. The 1969 swing to Labor returned it to the marginal zone with a margin of 4.9 per cent, and there was some talk in 1971 that the newly installed Prime Minister might not be able to hold his seat. He in fact suffered only a 1.9 per cent swing at the 1972 election that saw the defeat of his government, and remained in the seat until his retirement in 1983. His closest call after 1961 in fact came in 1980, when he won by 1.1 per cent. McMahon's mid-term departure prompted a by-election which was won for Labor by Michael Maher with a 9.4 per cent swing. Maher held the seat against a slight correction in the Liberals' favour in 1983, but was damaged by the 1984 redistribution and defeated in 1987 by Liberal candidate Bob Woods. Woods was returned in 1990, but his narrow margin was erased by a redistribution and he suffered a further swing of 4.5 per cent at the 1993 election. Predictably, new Labor member Mary Easson only survived one term, being defeated in 1996 by Paul Zammit of the Liberals. Zammit boldly quit the party in February 1998 in protest over the government's airport policy, and polled 15.8 per cent as an independent at the 1998 election. John Murphy won the seat for Labor after defeating former Foreign Affairs Department secretary Michael Costello for preselection, and survived slight swings at the next two elections. | |