Franklin – Australia 2028

ALP 18.7%

Incumbent MP
Julie Collins, since 2007.

• Geography
• Redistribution
• History
• Candidates
• Assessment
• 2025 results
• Booth breakdown
• Results maps

Geography
South-eastern Tasmania. Franklin covers parts of the Hobart urban areas to the east of the Derwent River (the Clarence and Brighton council areas) and stretches up Tasmania’s east coast, taking in the Sorell, Tasman and Glamorgan-Spring Bay council areas.

Redistribution
Franklin was radically redrawn, losing the western half of the electorate, which previously covered the Kingborough and Huon Valley council areas to the south-west of Hobart. Franklin maintained the eastern parts of the old electorate in the Clarence council area and then expanded north and east, taking in the Brighton, Sorell, Tasman and Glamorgan-Spring Bay council areas from Lyons. These changes slightly reduced Labor’s two-party-preferred margin from 19.4% to 18.7%. The seat was a non-classic contest with an independent challenge on the old boundaries, but that does not fit on the new boundaries.

History
Franklin was created for the 1903 election. The seat was first held by William McWilliams, who was a member at various times of the minor Revenue Tariff party, the Free Traders, the Commonwealth Liberal Party and the Nationalists, before becoming the first leader of the Country Party in 1920. He lost his seat in 1922 to the Nationalist candidate. He won the seat back as an independent in 1928 and retained it at the 1929 election but died shortly after the declaration of the poll.

The by-election was won by Charles Frost of the ALP, who lost his seat in 1931 to the United Australia Party before winning it back in 1934. He went on to serve as Minister for Repatriation under John Curtin before he lost the seat to Charles Falkinder of the Liberal Party in 1946. Falkinder held the seat until his retirement in 1966, and Ray Sherry of the ALP won the seat in 1969. Sherry lost the seat to Bruce Goodluck in 1975. Goodluck held the seat for the Liberal Party until he was defeated by Harry Quick in 1993.

Quick held the seat until the 2007 election, and he announced his impending retirement in 2005. He caused controversy in 2006 by endorsing a Greens candidate, sitting MP Nick McKim, for the state seat of Franklin in the state election. The ALP originally preselected Electrical Trades Union official Kevin Harkins, Quick openly criticised Harkins and was seen to be supporting Liberal candidate Vanessa Goodwin. Harkins was eventually replaced as the ALP candidate by ALP state secretary Julie Collins, and Quick was expelled from the ALP, supposedly for not paying his membership fees.

Collins won Franklin at the 2007 election, and has held the seat ever since.

Candidates
No information.

Assessment
This section will be filled in closer to the election.

2025 result

2025 two-candidate-preferred result

2025 two-party-preferred result

Booth breakdown

Booths have been divided into four areas. Polling places in the Clarence council area have been split into north and south. The Brighton council area has been grouped together, while the remainder of the seat has been grouped as “East Coast”.

Labor won a majority of the primary vote in all four areas, ranging from 67.8% in Brighton and the East Coast to 73.6% in Clarence North.

Independent candidates polled 27-28% in the Clarence areas but only 3.2% in the other parts of the seat. This reflects the old boundary between Franklin and Lyons.

The Greens came third, with a primary vote ranging from 9.5% in Brighton to 17.1% on the east coast.

Election results in Franklin at the 2025 federal election
Toggle between two-candidate-preferred votes (Labor vs Independent/Liberal), two-party-preferred votes and primary votes for Labor, the Liberal Party, independent candidates and the Greens.

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