| Braddon AustralianHouse of RepresentativesDivision | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  Interactive map of boundaries since the2019 federal election | |||||||||||||||
| Created | 1955 | ||||||||||||||
| MP | Anne Urquhart | ||||||||||||||
| Party | Labor | ||||||||||||||
| Namesake | Sir Edward Braddon | ||||||||||||||
| Electors | 84,278 (2025) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 21,369 km2 (8,250.6 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Demographic | Rural | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate | Braddon | ||||||||||||||
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TheDivision of Braddon is anAustralian electoral division in thestate ofTasmania. The current MP isAnne Urquhart of theLabor Party, who was elected at the2025 federal election.
Braddon is a rural electorate covering approximately 21,369 square kilometres (8,251 sq mi) in the north-west and west of Tasmania, includingKing Island. The cities ofBurnie andDevonport are major population centres in the division. Other towns includeCurrie,Latrobe,Penguin,Queenstown,Rosebery,Smithton,Somerset,Stanley,Strahan,Ulverstone,Waratah,Wynyard andZeehan.[1]
Braddon has traditionally been amarginal seat. However, in2022 the trend was broken, with Braddon becoming a "fairly safe" seat for the first time in twelve years, with theLiberal Party holding it while losing government nationally. In 2025, large swings towards the Labor Party saw Anne Urquhart gain the seat for Labor.
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by theAustralian Electoral Commission. 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.[2]
The division was created at the Tasmanian redistribution on 30 August 1955, essentially as a reconfigured version of theDivision of Darwin. It is named forSir Edward Braddon, aPremier of Tasmania and one of Tasmania's five original federal members of parliament.
Following the election of theWhitlam government and the period following theFranklin Dam controversy, Braddon became a relatively safe seat for the Liberal Party. In more recent years, the division has usually been amarginal seat, changing hands between theAustralian Labor Party and the Liberal Party. Its most prominent member wasRay Groom. Groom was later to representDenison in theTasmanian Parliament 1986–2001 and served asTasmanian Premier 1992–96.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Anne Urquhart | 29,579 | 39.52 | +17.02 | |
| Liberal | Mal Hingston | 23,700 | 31.67 | −12.44 | |
| Greens | Erin Morrow | 6,318 | 8.44 | +1.72 | |
| Independent | Adam Martin | 6,174 | 8.25 | +8.25 | |
| One Nation | Christopher Methorst | 5,709 | 7.63 | +3.29 | |
| Trumpet of Patriots | Stephen Kenney | 3,360 | 4.49 | +4.49 | |
| Total formal votes | 74,840 | 95.47 | +3.13 | ||
| Informal votes | 3,553 | 4.53 | −3.13 | ||
| Turnout | 78,393 | 93.05 | +0.29 | ||
| Two-party-preferred result | |||||
| Labor | Anne Urquhart | 42,809 | 57.20 | +15.23 | |
| Liberal | Mal Hingston | 32,031 | 42.80 | −15.23 | |
| Laborgain fromLiberal | Swing | +15.23 | |||
41°38′53″S145°24′50″E / 41.648°S 145.414°E /-41.648; 145.414
