, the division's namesake The division was created in 1955 and is named for
Billy Hughes, who was
Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. Originally a marginal
Labor seat, it was taken by the
Liberals in their
1966 landslide. However, the Liberal margin was redistributed away in 1968 when most of its Liberal-friendly territory was shifted to newly created
Cook, and Labor won it back on a large swing. It remained in Labor hands for the next quarter-century, though it became increasingly marginal from 1984 onward. It was one of many marginal seats taken by the Liberals in the
1996 landslide. The Liberals held it up until
2025, although they came close to losing it in the
2007 Labor landslide – and for 30 years it was generally considered to be a safe Liberal seat. before joining
Clive Palmer’s
United Australia Party in August 2021. In the 2022 election, the Liberals won the seat back, with
Jenny Ware becoming the new MP. A redistribution prior to the
2025 election resulted in the losses of some Liberal-voting areas at the
Sutherland Shire and the gains of Labor-voting areas at the
City of Campbelltown. This halved the Liberal margin from 7.0% to 3.5%.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2025/guide/hugh|title=Hughes Federal Election 2025 Results ==Boundaries==