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The Division of Kingsford Smith is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the south-eastern suburbs of Sydney, on the north shore of Botany Bay, and the coast of the Tasman Sea (a south-western segment of the Pacific Ocean). It includes the suburbs of Coogee, Randwick, Maroubra, Mascot, Botany, Malabar and Kensington. The Division is named after Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, a pioneer aviator, and the first pilot to fly across the Pacific Ocean. The Kingsford Smith International Airport (Sydney International), and the suburb of Kingsford, both of which are located within the Division, are also named after him. The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 Federal election. It is a fairly safe Labor seat, and has been in Labor hands for its entire existence. It has previously been held by Lionel Bowen, the Deputy Prime Minister under Bob Hawke, and by Laurie Brereton, a minister in the Keating government. It is currently held by Peter Garrett, Minister for Education and former lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil, and former President of the Australian Conservation Foundation. The Division was originally known as the Division of Kingsford-Smith (with a hyphen), based upon a misspelling of Sir Charles's surname. However, this was corrected at the redistribution in 2001. |