The Division of Franklin is an Australian electoral division in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

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

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

. It is the only non-contiguous federal electoral division in Australia, 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 Old Beach is a residential / rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Brighton in the Hobart LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about south of the town of Brighton. The 2016 census recorded a population of 3779 for the stat ...

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 an highway in southern Tasmania, Australia. The highway forms part of the A6 and connects Hobart with the southern parts of Tasmania. The original Huon Highway (now known as Huon Road) was a twisty two-lane road skirting ...

and including

Bruny Island Bruny Island ( Nuenonne: Lunawanna-alonnah) is a island located off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and its east coast lies within the Tasman ...

, 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 17,219, towns and localities of the region include Cygnet, ...

. 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% of Tasmania. It is also one of the last ex ...

and

Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is an island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Regionally part of Oceania and politically a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1900, it became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 197 ...

, 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 federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...

. 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 Australian electoral division covering Tasmania. The five-member statewide seat existed from the inaugural 1901 election until the 1903 election. Each elector cast one vote. Unlike most of the other states, Ta ...

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 and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...

, 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 simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

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

Harry Quick Harry Vernon Quick (born 28 June 1941, Melbourne), is an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 until 2007, representing the electorate of Franklin. He sat as an Australian Labor Party repre ...

, 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 Constituencies established in 1903 1903 establishments in Australia Southern Tasmania South West Tasmania