Braddon – Tasmania 2024

Incumbent MPs

  • Shane Broad (Labor), since 2017.
  • Anita Dow (Labor), since 2018.
  • Felix Ellis (Liberal), since 2021. Previously 2020–2021.1
  • Roger Jaensch (Liberal), since 2014.
  • Jeremy Rockliff (Liberal), since 2002.

1Ellis filled a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Adam Brooks in May 2021.

Geography
Braddon covers the West Coast and North-West of Tasmania, including the islands to Tasmania’s northwest. The seat covers West Coast, Burnie, Central Coast, Circular Head, Latrobe, Devonport and Waratah/Wynyard councils. The seat’s largest centres are the towns of Devonport and Burnie.

History
Braddon was first created for the 1956 election, sharing a name and boundaries with the federal electorate of Braddon. This replaced the seat of Darwin, which had previously covered northwestern Tasmania since the introduction of proportional representation in 1909.

The ALP won four seats and the Anti-Socialists two in Darwin at the 1909 election. The ALP and Liberals divided the seats equally 3-3 at the 1912 and 1913 elections. The Liberals lost one of their three seats in 1916 and 1919, and in 1922 the Liberals were reduced to one seat, with the Country Party winning two.

From 1925 to 1955 the ALP and the Nationalist/Liberal parties split the seats in Darwin 3-3 with two exceptions. The Nationalists won a 4-2 majority in 1931 and the ALP won a 4-2 majority in 1941. A 3-3 split was repeated in the new seat of Braddon in 1956.

The ALP won a 4-3 majority in 1959 and 1964 after Braddon gained a seventh seat. The Liberals lost one of their three seats to an independent in 1969, and that seat went to the ALP in 1972, giving them a 5-2 majority. The ALP again won 4-3 majorities in 1976 and 1979, and the Liberals gained 4-3 majorities in 1982 and 1986.

The ALP lost one of their three seats to Green independent Di Hollister in 1989, while the Liberals maintained their four seats. The Liberals gained a 5-1-1 majority in 1992, and reverted to a 4-2-1 majority in 1996.

The Liberal vote collapsed in 1998 when Braddon’s seats were cut to five, and the Liberals lost two of their seats, as did Greens MP Di Hollister. The ALP gained a third seat, for a 3-2 split. This result was maintained in 2002, 2006 and 2010. It was the only seat at the 2002 and 2006 elections where the Greens failed to elect an MP.

In 2010, the ALP lost their third seat to the Greens. Two Labor sitting MPs were re-elected, while Steve Kons retired and his seat was won by the Greens’ Paul O’Halloran. On the Liberal side, Jeremy Rockliff was re-elected, while sitting Liberal MP Brett Whiteley was narrowly defeated by fellow Liberal Adam Brooks.

There was a 13% swing to the Liberal Party in 2014, while Labor lost 17% and the Greens lost 6%. 7% of the electorate voted for the Palmer United Party (at the time represented in the Senate by Jacqui Lambie). The Greens lost their sole seat, while Labor also lost one of their two seats. The Liberal Party doubled their representation from two to four.

The Liberal Party lost one of their four seats in 2018, with Labor regaining their second seat. This result was repeated in 2021, with the Liberal Party winning three seats to Labor’s two.

Candidates

Assessment
Braddon is one of the Liberal Party’s strongest electorates in Tasmania. With the increase in magnitude, the Liberal Party would be expected to win a fourth seat with an outside chance of a fifth. Labor’s second seat is solidified, but they are some distance from winning a third seat.

2021 result

Candidate Votes % Quota New quota Swing
Jeremy Rockliff 19,186 27.4 1.6453
Felix Ellis 6,229 8.9 0.5342
Adam Brooks 6,202 8.9 0.5319
Roger Jaensch 4,833 6.9 0.4145
Lara Hendriks 1,856 2.7 0.1592
Stacey Sheehan 1,708 2.4 0.1465
Liberal Party 40,014 57.2 3.4314 4.5751 +0.8
Shane Broad 6,034 8.6 0.5175
Anita Dow 5,640 8.1 0.4837
Justine Keay 4,132 5.9 0.3543
Michelle Rippon 1,454 2.1 0.1247
Amanda Diprose 1,300 1.9 0.1115
Australian Labor Party 18,560 26.5 1.5916 2.1221 -0.6
Darren Briggs 1,853 2.6 0.1589
Tammy Milne 670 1.0 0.0575
Emily Murray 584 0.8 0.0501
Phill Parsons 403 0.6 0.0346
Maureen Corbett 372 0.5 0.0319
Tasmanian Greens 3,882 5.5 0.3329 0.4439 +2.2
Brenton Jones 1,648 2.4 0.1413
Kim Swanson 990 1.4 0.0849
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers 2,638 3.8 0.2262 0.3016 +1.3
Craig Garland 4,236 6.1 0.3633
Liz Hamer 337 0.5 0.0289
Matthew Morgan 294 0.4 0.0252
Total Others 4,867 7.0 0.4174 0.5565 +3.0
Informal 3,963 5.4 0.0000

Preference flows

Only one candidate, the Liberal Party’s Jeremy Rockliff, was elected on primary votes.

Let’s fast forward until there were ten candidates competing for the final four seats. This included the four other Liberals, three Labor candidates, independent candidate Craig Garland and one each from the Greens and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers:

          • Adam Brooks (LIB) – 0.763 quotas
          • Felix Ellis (LIB) – 0.686
          • Roger Jaensch (LIB) – 0.663
          • Shane Broad (ALP) – 0.596
          • Anita Dow (ALP) – 0.570
          • Justine Keay (ALP) – 0.455
          • Craig Garland (IND) – 0.412
          • Lara Hendriks (LIB) – 0.313
          • Darren Briggs (GRN) – 0.308
          • Brenton Jones (SFF) – 0.228

Garland did relatively well from Shooters preferences, and otherwise they scattered amongst the major party candidates:

          • Brooks (LIB) – 0.795
          • Ellis (LIB) – 0.706
          • Jaensch (LIB) – 0.676
          • Broad (ALP) – 0.625
          • Dow (ALP) – 0.591
          • Keay (ALP) – 0.481
          • Garland (IND) – 0.475
          • Hendriks (LIB) – 0.327
          • Briggs (GRN) – 0.316

Greens preferences flowed most strongly to Garland and then the three Labor candidates:

          • Brooks (LIB) – 0.802
          • Ellis (LIB) – 0.716
          • Jaensch (LIB) – 0.685
          • Broad (ALP) – 0.659
          • Dow (ALP) – 0.635
          • Garland (IND) – 0.564
          • Keay (ALP) – 0.527
          • Hendriks (LIB) – 0.335

Hendriks’ preferences unsurprisingly split fairly evenly between the three remaining Liberals, but did push Jaensch ahead of Ellis:

          • Brooks (LIB) – 0.860
          • Jaensch (LIB) – 0.831
          • Ellis (LIB) – 0.814
          • Broad (ALP) – 0.666
          • Dow (ALP) – 0.642
          • Garland (IND) – 0.568
          • Keay (ALP) – 0.535

Keay’s preferences pushed both Labor candidates into the lead with Dow doing particularly well:

          • Dow (ALP) – 0.913
          • Broad (ALP) – 0.874
          • Brooks (LIB) – 0.873
          • Jaensch (LIB) – 0.839
          • Ellis (LIB) – 0.825
          • Garland (IND) – 0.580

Garland’s preferences elected Dow and otherwise favoured the other candidates evenly:

          • Dow (ALP) – 1.084
          • Broad (ALP) – 0.996
          • Brooks (LIB) – 0.921
          • Jaensch (LIB) – 0.907
          • Ellis (LIB) – 0.884

Dow’s surplus then elected Broad:

          • Broad (ALP) – 1.063
          • Brooks (LIB) – 0.923
          • Jaensch (LIB) – 0.911
          • Ellis (LIB) – 0.887

And then Broad’s preferences favoured Jaensch and Ellis over Broad, but Ellis was too far behind to win:

          • Jaensch (LIB) – 0.934
          • Brooks (LIB) – 0.931
          • Ellis (LIB) – 0.904

Booth breakdown

Booths have been divided into six areas. Polling places in the Circular Head, Waratah/Wynyard and West Coast LGAs were divided into North West and South West. Polling places in Devonport and Latrobe council areas have been grouped into one group. Polling places in Burnie and Central Coast council areas have been grouped together separately.

Booths on King Island have been grouped together, with those in the sparsely populated west of the electorate’s mainland split between North West and South West.

The Liberal Party topped the poll in every area, with a vote ranging from 49.4% in Burnie to 62.3% on King Island.

The Labor vote ranged from 20.5% in the north-west to 32.5% in Burnie.

Voter group LIB % ALP % GRN % Total votes % of votes
Devonport-Latrobe 59.9 27.2 5.4 16,121 23.0
Central Coast 59.2 25.8 6.2 11,793 16.9
North-West 54.1 20.5 4.4 9,261 13.2
Burnie 49.4 32.5 5.0 8,098 11.6
South-West 52.5 27.5 5.8 1,818 2.6
King Island 62.3 21.7 4.9 771 1.1
Pre-poll 59.3 26.6 5.5 15,608 22.3
Other votes 56.8 27.5 7.3 6,491 9.3

Election results in Braddon at the 2021 Tasmanian election
Toggle between primary votes for the Liberal Party and Labor Party.

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23 COMMENTS

  1. A poll shows Rebecca White as preferred premier, there was rumours that there would be an early Tasmanian state election but I doubt that.

  2. Apparently White has often won the Preferred Premier, or at least been extremely competitive, even when her party was polling terribly.

    Seems Tasmanians quite like her personally, but for whatever reason the Labor brand in Tassie has been far less popular.

  3. Latest opinion poll for Tasmanian state voting intentions. LIB 31% ALP 27% JLN 20% GRN 15%.

    The JLN primary vote looks unusually high but it could be volatile. I’m convinced that JLN is establishing themselves in middle Tasmania as a third force or the One Nation of Tasmania. Unlike One Nation in Queensland or other populist, third forces like SA Best or NXT in SA, JLN is competing in multi-member seats and so getting just a 17% primary vote means a won seat.

    If JLN’s primary vote hits the teens, in Braddon, Bass and Lyons there could be 2 LIB, 2 ALP and 1 JLN, if not 3 LIB, 1 ALP, 1 JLN.

  4. @votante that won’t happen your forgetting Wilkie. Who she doesn’t run against. The status quo will remain in Tas she won’t get a lower house seat. Libs will bassbraddon and Lyons. Wilkie will hold on to Clark and Labor will hold on to franklin

  5. @John, this thread is for the Tasmanian state election, not the federal election. The title can be confusing because federal and state electorates have the same names.

  6. @ Votante,
    I think either Libs or Labor will be willing to do a deal with JLN in the event of a hung parliament. While she maybe populist i actually think she is pragmatic. For example she worked with Labor on the Net Zero legislation, Safeguard mechanism, Housing Australia Future Fund & National Reconstruction Fund.

  7. @Nimalan, agreed. Jacqui Lambie has less of an obstructionist reputation. It might be because federal Labor would avoid One Nation similar to how federal LNP would avoid the Greens and that would leave JLN as a more “middle ground” option. She is pro-Voice and at the same time, has classic protectionist tendencies like minimising foreign ownership and boosting Australian manufacturing. If JLN hold the balance of power after the state election, I suspect Labor would rather negotiate with JLN than the Greens.

  8. Agree Votante,
    I think Labor would rather negotiate with the JLN rather than Greens. A deal with the Greens will be unpopular among the traditional blue collar wing of the Labor party and may damage its prospects in Lyons. A deal with JLN probably will not be unpopular by the progessive middle class wing of the party and JLN may just request more support for certain industries and maybe a state version of the National Reconstruction Fund. There is no Coal mining/Fossil Fuel industry in Tasmania so that wont be an issue.
    .

  9. I can imagine JLN members in any parliament bar the Senate becoming an unmanageable rabble similar to One Nation in QLD in 1998 or the UAP in 2013. It would just splinter into multiple pieces.

  10. Labor may be traumatised from their experiences in going too Green. In 2004, Mark Latham had his forestry policy and was hanging out with Bob Brown, whilst John Howard got cheers from unionised forestry workers. Labor subsequently lost Braddon and Bass. In 2013, federal Labor lost Braddon, Bass and Lyons following a minority Labor government with support from the Greens. Tas Labor would avoid the Greens if they could and may even try to get a preference deal with JLN.

    I think JLN can pick up a state seat in Braddon as that this is Senators JL and Tammy Tyrrell’s home turf (both are from NW Tas) and JLN scored 10% in the federal seat of Braddon in 2022.

    @Redistributed, I think JLN is focusing just on one very small state for now. ON and UAP grew too fast too quickly with relatively inexperienced, heavy-handed leaders. If only one lower house JLN candidate gets elected, there’s less potential for infighting.

  11. Even if the Liberals do lose the election they’ll definitely have the most seats in Braddon. If JLN does well here then a possible result could be:

    Liberal: 4 seats (+1)
    Labor: 2 seats (steady)
    JLN: 1 seat (+1)
    TOTAL: 7 seats (+2)

  12. My hometown seat. The Liberals will negate some of the swing against due to Jeremy Rockliff and by having the same three incumbents they took to the previous election. Don’t see any scenario where they don’t get four seats. Labor will easily retain their two seats as like in Bass they have two good incumbents with a similar level of popularity. A third seat is a stretch.

    I think the last seat will be between JLN and Craig Garland. I expect JLN to poll double digits but they will suffer from leakage. If Garland can get a boost of a few percent I think he has a good shot at beating out the fifth Liberal, third Labor and a JLN candidate. Greens have no chance and I suspect they’ll be more focused on gaining seats in the other four electorates. I haven’t been up this way since Christmas so will be interested to see signage and the general sentiment when I visit in two weeks.

    Prediction: either 4 LIB, 2 LAB and 1 IND (Garland) or 4 LIB, 2 LAB, 1 JLN

  13. In the Devonport area and surrounds Felix Ellis was the most visible which doesn’t surprise me. Was surprised by how much of Adrian Luke (Labor) I saw but him being from Devonport made it make sense. Unsurprisingly JLN had some presence but not as much as I was expecting. Didn’t see anything from the Greens but it would be a waste for them to target the electorate when Bass, Lyons and second seats in Clark and Franklin are more winnable than Braddon. Still expecting one of my two predicted scenarios from before to happen.

  14. @Zachary
    I agree with your assessment and I’m leaning towards 4 Lib, 2 Labor and 1 JLN.
    I’m curious as to whether Garland may cannibalise potential JLN votes, they both seem to appeal to a certain type of voter. I also wonder how JLN will perform without Lambie herself running.

  15. Libs are NOT getting 50% of FPV here. They will fall under 50%. they are at their highpoint currently and with the unpopularity of the state liberal and federal opposition. There will be a correction. But the Liberals will win more votes and seats in Braddon than Labor.

  16. new poll out today shows libs ahead in every seat at a state level if replicated at a federal election would see lyons fliiping and even have labor in trouble in normal safe franklin. in braddon libbs are at 49% FPV meaning gavin pearce would be as safe as houses and archer holding bass easily.

  17. @John, Tasmanians just like Queenslanders tends to have political culture separating their federal and state votes. Hence State votes is not a good indicator here plus I don’t think Libs would be anywhere close to winning Clark.

  18. The Jacquie Lambie network – which presently has no seats in the state parliament – would win 10.2 per cent in the seat of Bass, 12.28 per cent in the seat of Braddon, eight per cent in the seat of Franklin and 11.2 per cent in the seat of Lyons – enough to win four seats under the Hare Clark system.

    The Liberals are well ahead of Labor in every seat in the poll – 40.28 per cent to 25.87 per cent in Bass, 49.24 per cent to 14.65 per cent in Braddon, 25.55 per cent to 21.37 per cent in Clark, 33.23 per cent to 27.4 per cent in Franklin and 38.46 per cent to 23.26 per cent in Lyons.

  19. Thoughts on election eve

    Liberals: if they don’t get four here than we’re looking at Premier White or something even crazier. This is the Premier’s seat and they also have Felix Ellis and Roger Jaensch as incumbents. I think Vonette Mead or Giovanna Simpson will get the fourth seat.

    Labor: interesting to see some discussions and even a poll indicating that they may only win one seat here. Which would be a crazy result. I still think Anita Dow and Shane Broad will have similar vote totals like the previous two elections which will prevent them from suffering from the Ginninderra effect. I can’t see that changing this time unless Dow being deputy Labor leader gives a significant boost in her vote.

    JLN: The lack of high profile candidates will harm them due to leakage but they might still poll enough that it won’t matter.

    Others: Garland’s vote held up in 2022 even with JLN on the ballot. I have seen a few signs around near my parents house which is not in his home base. I think it will be very close between him and the JLN candidate. The Greens won’t be anywhere near getting a seat and I have yet to see one of their signs in Braddon. Peter Freshney might do decently but I think having JLN and Garland on the ballot paper will make him get lost in the mix.

    My prediction is 4-2-0-1-0
    less likely:
    4-2-0-0-1
    3-2-0-1-1
    4-1-0-1-1

  20. Definitely Liberals 3 and Labor 2 – the other 2 seats will be close.
    I tip Lambie’s party to get a seat in a close contest. Her support looks strongest in this electorate, but I’m not sure if she’s got candidate who can really win over voters, though her name recognition should get somebody elected. The last seat could go in any direction, but I tip the Liberals to grab it after a fight, because both Labor and the Greens look weak here.

  21. Pretty bad that Rockliff couldn’t even get the Liberals to four here, well done Garland winning after so many attempts! This result wasn’t even in any of my scenarios. We might not be getting Premier White but Garland being in parliament is not at all helpful for Rockliff. I was right about Mead and Simpson fighting for the fourth spot but that won’t even matter unless there’s resignations. Labor’s result here wasn’t great but still better than I expected. Greens did better than I expected and I was shocked that at one point it looked like they had a remote chance of winning a seat. The statewide primary for Labor shows they have a real problem keeping voters from switching to independent candidates, the Greens or JLN and Braddon is a big example of that.

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