Division of Sydney

The Division of Sydney is an Australian electoral division in New South Wales, Australia.

History
The division draws its name from Sydney, the most populous city in Australia, which itself was named after former British Home Secretary Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney. The division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 21 November 1968, replacing the old Division of Dalley, Division of East Sydney and Division of West Sydney; it was first contested at the 1969 election.

The seat is a safe seat for the Australian Labor Party (ALP) which has never polled less than 60% of the two-party preferred vote at any election. In line with a national trend towards progressive inner-city voting, the seat had the highest number of Green votes in any federal electorate in 2004, though by 2013 it had dropped to seventh-highest. The current Member for the Division of Sydney, since the 1998 federal election, is Tanya Plibersek, a member of the ALP. Sydney is currently Labor's third safest seat, with 68.67% on the 2PP.

As at the 2001 census, the electorate had the highest number of same-sex couples in Australia (2,265).

Boundaries
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian Electoral Commission. Redistributions occur for the boundaries of divisions in a particular state, and they occur every seven years, or sooner if a state's representation entitlement changes or when divisions of a state are malapportioned.

The division is located around the City of Sydney and includes many inner suburbs such as, , , , , Erskineville, , , , Millers Point, , , , , , , and parts of ,  and  in the Inner West, as well as Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Potts Point, Woolloomooloo and  in the Eastern Suburbs. Lord Howe Island, within the Tasman Sea and some 400 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, is located within the division; as are the harbour islands from Spectacle Island to the Sydney Heads, and all the waters of Port Jackson, except for Middle Harbour and North Harbour.