Sydney seats by median household income

In below table are the twenty seven Sydney seats, ranked on median household income. See this column.

2001 Census Data taken from the Parliament House Website, with AEC socio-demographic classifications and ALP two party preferred vote. (Coalition's is always 100 minus Labor's). As always, Labor red, Coalition blue

Contrary to "Howard's Battlers" myth, the bottom is awash with red.

In 1998 those "battler" seats swung massively to Labor. Fowler, Prospect and Reid returned their  highest Labor two party preferred votes on record (which means since 1983, when the AEC started fully distributing preferences for all seats. For the second two seats, you can probably say the highest Labor vote since Whitlam government.)

Columns on the right hand side show the swing at 1998 and 2001 elections. These are to Labor, so a positive number means the swing was to the opposition and a negative one to the government. 

The aggregate NSW swings were 4.3 percent to Labor in 1998 and 3.4 percent to the Coalition in 2001. Nearly every seat swung to Labor in 1998; nearly every one swung to Coalition in 2001. Broadly, the biggest swings at both elections took place at lower median income seats. The first was predominately about the GST, the second border protection, so these voting trends are not surprising.

But part of the 2001 result can be seen as a correction of the aberration in 1998. On the evidence of 1998, low income seats hated the idea of a GST. With the "referendum" on this topic decided, some relative movement back to the Coalition in the low income seats at the following election was to be expected.

Go to all seats (150) (a big page; might be slow)      Go to all seats minus Rural (105)

Go to all seats (150)       Go to all seats minus Rural (105)

Note: some seats had different boundaries in '98