| Indi AustralianHouse of RepresentativesDivision | |
|---|---|
  Interactive map of electorate boundaries from the2025 federal election | |
| Created | 1901 |
| MP | Helen Haines |
| Party | Independent |
| Namesake | Murray River (Aboriginal name) |
| Electors | 120,854 (2025) |
| Area | 29,188 km2 (11,269.5 sq mi) |
| Demographic | Rural |
TheDivision of Indi (/ɪndaɪ/IN-dye) is anAustralian electoral division in thestate ofVictoria. The division is located in the north-east of the state, adjoining the border withNew South Wales. Between 1922 and 1937, the division also covered the outskirts of eastern Melbourne and theYarra Valley.
As of 2025[update], it covers the entire local government areas ofShire of Murrindindi,Shire of Mansfield,Alpine Shire,Shire of Towong.Shire of Indigo,City of Wodonga,Rural City of Wangaratta,City of Benalla, and the eastern half ofShire of Strathbogie. The largest settlements in the division are the regional cities ofWodonga,Wangaratta, andBenalla. While Indi is one of the largest electorates in Victoria, much of it is located within the largely uninhabitedAustralian Alps. While Wodonga serves as a regional hub for much of the more heavily populated northern part of the electorate, the southern part is closer toMelbourne than Wodonga.
The current member for Indi, since the2019 federal election, isindependentHelen Haines.
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by theAustralian 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.[1]
When the division was created in 1900, it covered the north-east of the state near the New South Wales border and along theHume Highway. It included the towns ofWangaratta,Wodonga,Bright andMount Hotham. In 1906, it expanded towards the south-west to includeBenalla andMansfield. In 1913, it expanded further southwards and gainedYea,Alexandra andEildon from the abolishedDivision of Mernda. In 1922, it expanded further southwards and gained significant areas from theDivision of Flinders. It extended up to the outskirts ofMelbourne and includedCroydon,Ringwood,Dandenong Ranges and theYarra Valley.[2]
In 1936, most of the areas it gained in 1913 and 1922 were lost to the newDivision of Deakin. However, the division was instead expanded west to includeShepparton andYarrawonga due to the abolition ofEchuca.[3] In 1949, this was also largely reversed with the creation of the newDivision of Murray from much of Indi's northwest portion, though Indi retainedEuroa andViolet Town.[4] Also in the same redistribution, the division expanded southwards again and regained Yea, Alexandra and Mansfield from the Division of Deakin. The division then remained largely similar with minor boundary changes until 1984.[2]
In 1984, the division lost its southern half and was significantly cut back to Benalla, with the areas lost becoming part of the newDivision of McEwen, named after a former member for IndiJohn McEwen.[5] Since 1984, the division gradually took back majority of these lost areas from McEwen or other divisions, such as Mansfield in 2003, Yea, Alexandra and Eildon in 2010, and Euroa and Violet Town in 2018. Indi had previously taken back Euroa and Violet Town in 1994, but lost them to the Division of Murray in 2010.[2]
As of the 2024 redistribution, it covers the entire local government areas ofShire of Murrindindi,Shire of Mansfield,Alpine Shire,Shire of Towong.Shire of Indigo,City of Wodonga,Rural City of Wangaratta,City of Benalla, and the eastern half ofShire of Strathbogie. It includes the regional cities ofWodonga,Wangaratta, andBenalla. It also includes the towns ofRutherglen,Mansfield,Beechworth,Myrtleford,Bright,Alexandra,Tallangatta,Corryong and a number of other small villages. It also includes a number of skii resorts, such asMount Buller,Mount Hotham andFalls Creek.[6]
Indi has existed continuously sinceFederation. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of theoriginal 65 divisions contested at thefirst federal election. The most nationally prominent person to have represented Indi was the first, SirIsaac Isaacs, who rose to becomeAttorney-General of Australia,Chief Justice of theHigh Court of Australia, and the first Australian-bornGovernor-General of Australia. Another member for Indi,John McEwen, transferred to Indi after Echuca was largely merged into it in 1937 and served as member for Indi for 12 years, before following most of the electors in Indi's northwestern portion into Murray in 1949. McEwen served on the Coalition frontbench without interruption from 1937 to his retirement in 19 and would later be brieflyPrime Minister of Australia after the death ofHarold Holt in 1967.
Indi has been held by a member of a conservative party (either theLiberal Party and its predecessors or theNational Party) for all but four terms from Federation to 2013, and without interruption from 1931 to 2013.Labor last won the seat in 1928 when the Country incumbent forgot to renominate, and retained the seat in 1929.[7] Since 2004, the Liberal primary vote has been in decline, falling from 63% in 2004,[8] to 54% in 2007,[9] 53% in 2010,[10] 44% in 2013 and 27% in 2016. In 2019, the Liberal primary vote rose slightly to 35% before falling again, in 2022, to 31%.
For the better part of 80 years, Indi was a fairly safe to safe seat for theCoalition. This ended at the2013 election, when agricultural consultant and independent candidateCathy McGowan unseated Liberal Party incumbentSophie Mirabella, the only incumbent Liberal MP to lose their seat at that election. It was considered a major upset on several counts. Not only did the Coalition win a decisive victory nationally, but Mirabella had won the previous election with atwo-party-preferred vote of almost 60 percent, on the stronger side of fairly safe (and within a few hundred votes of being safe).
McGowan retained Indi against Mirabella at the2016 election, with an increased 54.8% (+4.6)two-candidate-preferred vote. The Liberal margin in a "traditional" two-party contest was reduced to 54.4% (–4.7) against Labor's 45.6% (+4.7), a marginal two-party-preferred result not seen since the1929 election.
McGowan retired in 2019 and was succeeded by fellow independent Helen Haines, who incurred a swing of four percent to the Liberals, compared with McGowan's 2016 vote, and was elected on Labor preferences.[11][12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Helen Haines | 44,723 | 42.29 | +1.61 | |
| Liberal | James Trenery | 32,475 | 30.71 | +0.19 | |
| Labor | Mitch Bridges | 8,824 | 8.34 | −0.25 | |
| One Nation | Athol Thomas | 7,611 | 7.20 | +1.92 | |
| Greens | Alysia Regan | 3,839 | 3.63 | +0.06 | |
| Legalise Cannabis | Ben Howman | 3,163 | 2.99 | +2.99 | |
| Family First | Michael White | 1,901 | 1.80 | +1.80 | |
| Libertarian | Tim Quilty | 1,705 | 1.61 | −0.65 | |
| Independent | Mark McFarlane | 1,520 | 1.44 | +1.44 | |
| Total formal votes | 105,761 | 94.40 | −0.13 | ||
| Informal votes | 6,279 | 5.60 | +0.13 | ||
| Turnout | 112,040 | 92.77 | +3.79 | ||
| Notionaltwo-party-preferred count | |||||
| Liberal | James Trenery | 59,925 | 56.66 | +1.40 | |
| Labor | Mitch Bridges | 45,836 | 43.34 | −1.40 | |
| Two-candidate-preferred result | |||||
| Independent | Helen Haines | 62,014 | 58.64 | −0.30 | |
| Liberal | James Trenery | 43,747 | 41.36 | +0.30 | |
| Independenthold | Swing | −0.30 | |||
36°38′24″S146°37′59″E / 36.640°S 146.633°E /-36.640; 146.633
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