The Division of Franklin is an

Australian electoral division Electorates (also known as electoral divisions or seats) of the Australian House of Representatives are single member electoral districts for the lower house of the Parliament of the Commonwealth. There are currently 150 electorates. Constitut ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. The division is the southernmost in Australia, located in southern Tasmania around the state capital,

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

. It is non-contiguous, with the two parts of the division separated by the

Division of Clark The Division of Clark is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Tasmania, first contested at the 2019 federal election. Geography Federal electoral division boundaries in Australia are determined at redistributions by a redistribut ...

, based around central

. As at the 2016 election, slightly more than half its electors are located on the eastern shore of the River Derwent, incorporating the entire

City of Clarence Clarence City Council (or City of Clarence) is a Local government in Australia, local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Hobart, Greater Hobart Area. The Clarence local government area has a po ...

and the suburb of Old Beach from Brighton Council. The remaining electors in the division are drawn from the southern parts of the

Kingborough Council Kingborough Council is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. Kingborough is classified as an urban local government area and has a population of 37,734, it covers the ...

, generally south of the

Huon Highway The Huon Highway is a major highway in southern Tasmania, Australia, forming part of route . It runs approximately from Kingston to Southport, making it the southernmost sealed highway in Australia. The route connects Hobart with the Huon Val ...

and including

Bruny Island Bruny Island is a coastal island of Tasmania, Australia, located at the mouths of the Derwent River and Huon River estuaries on Storm Bay on the Tasman Sea, south of Hobart. The island is separated from the mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux C ...

, and the entire

Huon Valley Council Huon Valley Council is a local government body in Tasmania, covering most of the south of the state. Huon Valley is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of , towns and localities of the region include Cygnet, Dover ...

. The division also includes the southern parts of the

Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, abbreviated to TWWHA, is a World Heritage Site in Tasmania, Australia. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Australia, covering , or almost 25 per cent of Tasmania. It is also one of the l ...

and

Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is a subantarctic island in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. It has been governed as a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1880. It became a Protected areas of Tasmania, Tasmania ...

, neither of which have permanent populations.

Geography

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...

. 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.

History

The division was one of the five established when the former

Division of Tasmania The Division of Tasmania was an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division covering Tasmania. The five-member statewide seat existed from the inaugural 1901 Australian federal election, 1901 election unt ...

was redistributed on 2 October 1903 and is named for

Sir John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and thro ...

, the polar explorer who was Lt Governor of Van Diemen's Land 1843-46. The Division of Franklin has always been a reasonably marginal seat, changing hands between the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and its predecessors. However, after 14 years of representation by former Labor and independent member

Harry Quick Harry Vernon Quick (28 June 1941 – 19 October 2024) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1993 until 2007, representing the electorate of Division of Franklin, ...

, the seat of Franklin was considered safe Labor with Franklin one of very few electorates to record a swing to Labor at the 2010 election. Franklin also has a strong history of voting for strong candidates rather than for a particular party. In 2005, sitting Labor member

announced that he would retire at the 2007 election. When Labor preselected union official Kevin Harkins as a replacement, Quick, seeing him as unsuitable, appeared to endorse the Liberal candidate,

Vanessa Goodwin Vanessa Goodwin (22 April 1969 – 3 March 2018) was an Australian politician. She was the Liberal Party member for the seat of Pembroke in the Tasmanian Legislative Council from the Pembroke by-election on 1 August 2009 until her resignation ...

, which was partly responsible for his expulsion from the Labor party. Harkins was eventually dropped as a candidate, and the Labor Party state secretary

Julie Collins Julie Maree Collins (born 3 July 1971) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has represented the Tasmanian seat of Franklin since the 2007 federal election. She held ministerial positions in the G ...

was installed as the ALP candidate. Collins won the seat of Franklin at the 2007 election despite Labor suffering a 3.11% swing against on two party preferred results and 5.03% swing against in general results. Liberal candidate Vanessa Goodwin recorded a swing towards the party while the Australian Greens a swing towards the party similar to that of the Liberals.

Members

Election results

References

External links

Division of Franklin - Australian Electoral Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Division of Electoral divisions of Australia Electoral divisions of Australia in Tasmania Constituencies established in 1903 1903 establishments in Australia Southern Tasmania South West Tasmania