Bega is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It has been represented by Michael Holland of the Labor Party since a 2022 by-election.
Bega is a regional electorate in the southeastern corner of the state on the Tasman Sea. It encompasses the entirety of Bega Valley Shire and Eurobodalla Shire. Its population centres include Bega, Tathra, Merimbula, Eden, Bemboka, Moruya, Batemans Bay and Narooma.
History In 1894, single-member electorates were introduced statewide and the two-member electorate of Eden was split into Bega and Eden–Bombala. In 1904 Eden-Bombala was abolished as a result of the 1903 New South Wales referendum which reduced the number of members of the Legislative Assembly from 125 to 90 and part of the district was absorbed by Bega. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed into Goulburn, along with Monaro. It was recreated in 1988.
Bega has historically tended to be a safe conservative seat, although demographic change has led to the seat becoming increasingly marginal for the Liberal Party for much of the early part of the 21st century. The Liberal margin blew out in their 2011 landslide, along with many other Liberal-held country seats. Despite the Liberals suffering a 10-point swing against them in 2015, they retained it and did so again in 2019.
Following the decision of the incumbent member Andrew Constance to resign in order to run in Gilmore at the 2022 federal election, a by-election was held in 2022 which saw Labor's Michael Holland win the seat with a substantial 14-point swing. This was the first time Labor had won Bega. Holland consolidated his hold on the seat at the 2023 state election, turning Bega into a safe Labor seat in one stroke.
Members for Bega First incarnation (1894–1920) Member Party Period Thomas Rawlinson 1894–1895 Henry Clarke 1895–1898 1898–1901 1901–1904 William Wood 1904–1913 William Millard 1913–1916 1916–1920 Second incarnation (1988–present)MemberPartyPeriod Russell Smith 1988–2003 Andrew Constance 2003–2021 Michael Holland 2022–present
Election results
References