Prahran – Victoria 2026

LIB 1.3% vs GRN

Incumbent MP
Rachel Westaway, since 2025.

• Geography
• History
• Candidates
• Assessment
• 2022 results
• Booth breakdown
• Results maps

Geography
Inner southern Melbourne. Prahran covers the suburbs of Prahran, South Yarra and Windsor and parts of St Kilda and St Kilda East.

History
Prahran has been a state electorate since 1889. It has alternated between the ALP and conservative parties, before falling to the Greens in 2014.

The ALP first won the seat in 1894, holding it until 1900. Liberal MP Donald Mackinnon held the seat from 1900 to 1920. The ALP and conservative parties alternated in control until the 1930s, with the Liberal Party holding the seat until 1945.

In 1945, the ALP’s William Quirk won the seat, holding it until his death in November 1948. The ensuing by-election in 1949 was won by Frank Crean, who had previously held the seat of Albert Park. He left the seat in 1951 when he moved to the federal seat of Melbourne Ports. He served as a federal MP until 1977, playing a senior role in the Whitlam Labor government.

The 1951 Prahran by-election was won by the ALP’s Robert Pettiona, who held the seat until his defeat in 1955.

Since 1955, Prahran has been won by the ALP only four times. In 1955, the seat was won by Sam Loxton, a Liberal candidate. Loxton was a former test cricketer who had been part of Don Bradman’s Invincibles team and played VFL football for St Kilda.

Loxton held the seat until 1979, when the ALP’s Bob Miller won the seat. He held the seat for two terms, and in 1985 unsuccessfully contested the Legislative Council province of Monash.

The Liberal Party’s Don Hayward won the seat in 1985. He had previously held the upper house seat of Monash from 1979 to 1985. He served as Member for Prahran until the 1996 election.

In 1996, the Liberal Party’s Leonie Burke won Prahran. Burke was defeated in 2002 by the ALP’s Tony Lupton. Lupton was re-elected in 2006.

In 2010, Lupton was defeated by Liberal candidate Clem Newton-Brown.

Prahran produced an unusual result in 2014, with the third-placed Greens candidate Sam Hibbins overtaking both Labor and Liberal candidates to win narrowly.

Hibbins was re-elected in 2018, again coming third on primary votes and then overtaking Labor and Liberal to win.

Hibbins gained a sizeable primary vote swing in 2022, with Labor reduced to a clear third place, and he also increased his majority after preferences.

Hibbins resigned from the Greens in November 2024 due to the revelation of a previous affair with a staff member. Hibbins briefly served as an independent before resigning from parliament later that month.

The 2025 by-election was won by the Liberal Party’s Rachel Westaway, narrowly defeating the Greens.

Candidates

• Angelica Di Camillo (Greens)
• Clayton Doueihi (Victorian Socialists)
• Meghan Hopper (Labor)
• Shaun Virsu (One Nation)
• Rachel Westaway (Liberal)

Assessment
The Liberal Party’s win in Prahran was very specific to the circumstances of the by-election. The Greens would have high hopes of regaining this seat at a general election when Labor is running.

2022 result

2022 two-candidate-preferred result

2022 two-party-preferred result

2025 by-election result

2025 by-election two-candidate-preferred result

Booth breakdown

Booths have been divided into three areas: central, north and south.

The Greens won a large majority of the two-candidate-preferred vote in all three areas in 2022, ranging from 64% in the north to 76.3% in the south. The Greens vote was much weaker on the special votes.

The Greens also had the highest primary vote in all three areas. The ALP outpolled the Liberals in the south but the Liberal Party vote was higher in the centre and north.

The Liberal Party won a slim majority of the two-candidate-preferred vote in the north at the by-election, while the Greens polled 53.9% in the centre and 63.5% in the south.

2022 booth breakdown

2025 by-election booth breakdown

Election results in Prahran at the 2022 Victorian state election
Toggle between two-candidate-preferred votes (Greens vs Liberal) and primary votes for the Greens, the Liberal Party and Labor.

Election results at the 2025 Prahran by-election
Toggle between two-candidate-preferred votes (Liberal vs Greens) and primary votes for the Liberal Party, Greens and independent candidate Tony Lupton.

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