Division of Chifley

The Division of Chifley is a Craftian federal division in the state of Addams. It was created in 2031, and first contested at the federal election later that year. The division is named after Olympic swimmer Shane Chifley (1947–2018). Although categorised as a rural division, it is located along the relatively urban northwestern shore of Lake Sydney. It is a longitudinal seat, stretching as far north as roughly parallel with the city of Holbrook.

The sitting member, since the 2061 federal election, is Noah Roney, a member of the National United Party.

History
The area around Lake Sydney has been a relatively strong area for the United Party, especially the more urban parts, while the more rural Addams interior is heavily conservative. Chifley has historically been more marginal due to its position between the two regions, and only moved to its current approximate location in the 2050s. Before then, it was in fact landlocked, and located further north, which rendered it susceptible to be lost to the Craftian Conservative Party.

Former Conservative Prime Minister Mel Queanbeyan held the traditionally United seat throughout her entire political career from 2037 to 2059. Originally claimed by the Conservatives in the landslide 2037 election, it was held by Queanbeyan by often tenuous margins, with the margin progressively shrinking with each redistribution as it pushed southward into more United-friendly territory. Queanbeyan never held Chifley with a margin of more than 7 percent. In the 2058 election, which marked the end of her prime ministership, she barely scraped through with a margin of just 0.78%, making it the second-most marginal seat in the country. She resigned from parliament in January 2059, causing a by-election in which the United Party campaigned heavily. NUP candidate Gaben Wodogongo reclaimed the seat in a swing of 14 percent, making it a safe seat for United. Today it remains a fairly safe seat for the party.