The city's urban population has long made the seat a Labor stronghold; it was in Labor hands for all but a few years from 1892 to 2006, even during the height of Joh Bjelke-Petersen's popularity.

This changed in 2005 when the practices of rogue surgeon Jayant Patel at the Bundaberg Base Hospital were uncovered.

The Beattie government was seriously embarrassed by the subsequent Commissions of Inquiry into the matter, and as a result the seat fell to the Nationals.

It became a Liberal National seat with the conservative parties' merger in 2008, and stayed in LNP hands for all but one term until 2020.

Labor retained the seat in 2024 (although it lost government) and picked up a small swing in its favour.