One quarter of NSW MPs live outside their electorate

EXCLUSIVE: The Telegraph can reveal 24 of the state’s 92 Legislative Assembly politicians do not reside within their seats, among them Nationals MP Kevin Humphries (pictured).

NSW MP for Barwon Kevin Humphries pictured moving into his Port Macquaries apartment - 400km from his electorate. Picture: Nathan Edwards

ONE quarter of our lower house MPs don’t live within their electorate.

As the Nationals MP for Barwon Kevin Humphries was yesterday photographed moving into a Port Macquarie apartment 400km away from his seat, The Daily Telegraph can reveal 24 of the state’s 92 Legislative Assembly politicians do not reside within their seats.

Among those living outside their seats are Opposition Leader Luke Foley, Sports Minister Stuart Ayres and Finance Minister Dominic Perrottet.

Corrective Services Minister David Elliott also lives outside his electorate of Baulkham Hills, but he said he was about to move into his electorate next week.

While some MPs live just a few hundred metres outside their electorates, with many blaming redistributions, Mr Perrottet lives 20 minutes drive from his, Mr Ayres lives 12 minutes’ drive from his Penrith office and Fairfield MP Guy Zangari lives 7km from his seat.

Opposition Leader Luke Foley says he lives 600m away from the boundary of his seat of Auburn. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Sports Minister Stuart Ayres lives 12 minutes’ drive from his Penrith office.

Finance Minister Dominic Perrottet lives 20 minutes from his electorate.

Macquarie Fields MP Anoulack Chanthivong says he is ‘5-10 minutes’ outside his seat. Picture: Chris McKeen

Mr Foley, who says he lives 600m away from the boundary of his seat of Auburn, said his situation was different to Mr Humphries.

“If in a suburban electorate you live half a kilometre, or a kilometre, outside your boundary I think it makes no difference to representing your constituents,” he said.

“Kevin Humphries is an extreme situation.”

Mr Zangari, the opposition prisons spokesman, conceded he was 7km outside his border in Cecil Hills.

Adam Crouch, the Liberal MP for Terrigal, said he lived 4.8km outside of his seat in Umina Beach, while Melanie Gibbons, the Liberal MP for Holsworthy, blamed electoral boundary changes for her living 5km outside her seat.

Labor’s first-term MP for Macquarie Fields Anoulack Chantivong said he was “5-10 minutes drive away” from his seat in Campbelltown.

Nationals MP for Lismore Thomas George said he lives in Lennox Head, “15-20 minutes’” drive outside his electorate. “I made it very clear before the election that I was moving to Lennox Head and it was my last term,” he said.

Lismore MP Thomas George said he was clear that he was moving to Lennox Head as this would be his last term.

Terrigal MP Adam Crouch lives 4.8km outside of his seat in Umina Beach.

Labor MP for Londonderry Pru Carr said she lived outside her electorate but was building a house inside it.

Liberal MP Kevin Connolly blames boundary changes for putting him outside his seat of Riverstone.

Liberal MP for Miranda Eleni Petinos said she lived outside her electorate in Bundeena, in the seat of Heathcote, but claimed this was a “hop, skip and jump” from her seat.

Ironically Steve Kamper, Labor MP for Rockdale, lives in Ms Petinos’s seat.

“I walk into my electorate every morning,” Mr Kamper said. “You’re talking about a person born and bred in Rockdale … I employed 30 people there.”

Labor MP for Londonderry Pru Carr said she was living outside her seat in Glenmore Park but was “building a house at the moment in Jordan Springs”.

Liberal MP for Riverstone Kevin Conolly, who lives in Bligh Park, outside his electorate, blamed boundary changes for now living outside. Wollongong Labor MP Noreen Hay, who lives in the seat of Shellharbour, said she was “three minutes’ drive” from her seat.

While Liberal MP Damien Tudehope said he is “three blocks” from the boundary of his seat, Coogee Liberal MP Bruce Notley Smith said he is “a few hundred metres out” of his electorate in Kensington and argues: “It’s crazy that could be an issue in such a small electorate”.

Campbelltown Labor MP Greg Warren said he was “500m outside” after moving to Mt Annan, Labor Lakemba MP Jihad Dib said he was “500m outside” and Labor Strathfield MP Jodi McKay said she was “50m outside” after a redistribution. Liberal MP Tanya Davies lives 100m outside her electorate. Labor’s Granville MP Julia Finn said she lived “two blocks outside my electorate and I have always been open about living in Rosehill”.

The issue came to light when The Daily Telegraph revealed last week Mr Humphries had sold his Moree house and was moving to a Port Macquarie unit.