division of Wills

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.{{cite web |last1=Muller |first1=Damon |title=The process of federal redistributions: a quick guide |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1718/Quick_Guides/FederalRedistributions |website=Parliament of Australia |access-date=19 April 2022 |date=14 November 2017}}

When the division was created in 1949, it partially replaced the abolished Division of Bourke around the Coburg and Pascoe Vale area.{{cite web|url=https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Electorate/Wills/State/Victoria|title=Wills|website=Parliamentary Handbook|access-date=30 May 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Electorate/Bourke/State/Victoria|title=Bourke|website=Parliamentary Handbook|access-date=30 May 2025}} The new division also included Essendon which was previously in the Division of Maribyrnong.{{cite web|url=https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Electorate/Maribyrnong/State/Victoria|title=Maribyrnong|website=Parliamentary Handbook|access-date=9 June 2025}} In 1955, it lost the Essendon and Pascoe Vale areas, but gained areas to the south at Brunswick West and part of Brunswick. In 1968, it regained the Pascoe Vale areas, gained the entire suburb of Brunswick as well as Brunswick East. In 1977, it lost parts of its southern portions, but gained Oak Park to the north-west and Preston and Thornbury to the east. In 1984, it gained part of Reservoir near Edwardes Lake, and the boundaries at Preston and Thornbury were cut back to the Epping railway line.

In 1989, the division shifted west, losing all areas east of the Merri Creek (Preston, Thornbury and Reservoir) while gaining areas to the west such as Essendon, Essendon Airport, Strathmore and Moonee Ponds. It also gained Fawkner and Hadfield to the north. It was further expanded north in 1994 up to the Western Ring Road to include Glenroy.

In 2003, it lost the Essendon and Moonee Ponds areas, but gained Gowanbrae and the part of Coburg North east of the Merri Creek. It had a minor boundary change in 2010 when it lost a small portion of Strathmore and gained part of Fitzroy North of the Capital City Trail. In 2018, it lost areas west of the Moonee Ponds Creek (which was also the boundary for City of Moreland), Coburg North east of Merri Creek (which it gained in 2003), and the areas in Fitzroy North. It had another minor boundary change in 2021 when it lost a block of Brunswick East. In 2024, it lost areas west of Pascoe Vale Road and CityLink (Glenroy, Oak Park, Pascoe Vale South and Brunswick West), but expanded southwards up to Alexandra Parade to include Princes Hill, Carlton North and Fitzroy North.{{cite web|url=https://www.aec.gov.au/redistributions/2023/vic/final-report/files/maps-a4/2024-AEC-Victoria-A4-Wills-Final.pdf|title=Map of Commonwealth Electoral Division of Wills|publisher=Australian Electoral Commission|date=October 2024|access-date=9 June 2025}}

Since the creation of the City of Moreland (now City of Merri-bek) in 1994, the division has only included the entirety of the local government area between 2010 and 2018, but contained the majority of it at other times.

As of the 2024 redistribution, Wills is bordered by Pascoe Vale Road and CityLink to the west, Western Ring Road to the north, and Merri Creek to the east. It consists of the majority of the City of Merri-bek, as well as portions of the cities of Melbourne, Moonee Valley, and Yarra.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Profile of the electoral division of Wills (Vic) |url=https://aec.gov.au/profiles/vic/wills.htm |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Australian Electoral Commission |language=en-AU}}

File:Portrait of William J Wills by Thomas Adams Hill (cropped).jpg, the division's namesake]]

The division was named after William John Wills of Burke and Wills fame. It was created in the 1949 redistribution.

Wills has been in Labor hands for its entire existence except between the 1992 by-election and 1996, when it was held by independent Phil Cleary. Its highest-profile member was Bob Hawke, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 until 1991. The 1992 by-election is remarkable for a number of reasons: It was caused by Bob Hawke's retirement from parliament; it had a record twenty-two candidates standing; it was won by an independent; the results were thrown out as the winner, Phil Cleary, was on unpaid leave from the state education system (the Australian Constitution forbids people employed by the Crown from standing for election). No replacement by-election was held as the court decision which threw out the results was made shortly before a general election was due.

File:People lining up to vote for the 2025 federal election at Merri-bek Primary School.jpg, with material for Labor's Peter Khalil and the Greens' Samantha Ratnam]]

While Wills remains a traditional Labor stronghold, demographic changes and the rise of The Greens has seen Wills, along with the neighbouring seat of Cooper, become Labor-Green contests in recent years. In 2016, Labor's margin versus Greens candidate and City of Merri-bek Mayor Samantha Ratnam dropped below 5 percent after a swing of more than 10 percent to Ratnam, despite the traditional 2PP margin (versus The Liberals) of over 20 percent making it one of the safest Labor seats in the country when considered against the Coalition.[http://results.aec.gov.au/20499/Website/HouseDivisionPage-20499-234.htm Wills, VIC], Virtual Tally Room 2016, Australian Electoral Commission. Labor's margin over the Greens increased to over 8 percent at the 2019 election, and remained almost unchanged at the 2022 Election.

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Wills has undergone inner-city gentrification, particularly in Brunswick, which has led to a surge in support for the Greens in the seat. However, the Labor vote increases the further residents live from the Green heartland of Brunswick.{{Cite web |title=Wills (Key Seat) - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results |url=https://abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2022/guide/will |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=abc.net.au |language=en-AU}}

Wills has relatively large immigrant communities, with populations of second-generation Greek and Italian immigrants. According to the 2016 census, 47.8% of electors had both parents born outside of Australia.{{Cite web |title=2016 Wills, Census All persons QuickStats {{!}} Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2016/CED237 |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=www.abs.gov.au}}

As of 2016, 7.7% of electors spoke Italian, 4.7% Arabic, and 4.5% Greek at home.

{{main|Electoral results for the Division of Wills}}

{{Excerpt|Results of the 2025 Australian federal election in Victoria|section=Wills}}

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• [http://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/vic/wills.htm Division of Wills - Australian Electoral Commission]

{{Australian federal divisions of Victoria}}

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Category:Electoral divisions of Australia

Category:Electoral divisions of Australia in Victoria

Category:Constituencies established in 1949

Category:Bob Hawke

Category:1949 establishments in Australia

Category:City of Merri-bek

Category:Electoral districts and divisions of Greater Melbourne