# Division of Braddon

The Division of Braddon is an Australian electoral division in the state of Tasmania. The current MP is Gavin Pearce of the Liberal Party, who was elected at the 2019 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, including King Island. The cities of Burnie and Devonport are major population centres in the division. Other towns include Currie, Latrobe, Penguin, Queenstown, Rosebery, Smithton, Somerset, Stanley, Strahan, Ulverstone, Waratah, Wynyard and Zeehan.
Braddon has traditionally been a marginal seat. However, in 2022 the trend was broken, with Braddon becoming a "fairly safe" seat for the first time in twelve years, with the Liberal Party holding it while losing government nationally.

## Geography

Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian 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.

## History

The division was created at the Tasmanian redistribution on 30 August 1955, essentially as a reconfigured version of the Division of Darwin. It is named for Sir Edward Braddon, a Premier of Tasmania and one of Tasmania's five original federal members of parliament.
Following the election of the Whitlam government and the period following the Franklin Dam controversy, Braddon became a relatively safe seat for the Liberal Party. In more recent years, the division has usually been a marginal seat, changing hands between the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party. Its most prominent member was Ray Groom. Groom was later to represent Denison in the Tasmanian Parliament 1986–2001 and served as Tasmanian Premier 1992–96.

## Members

| Member | Party | Term | Notes |
| Aubrey Luck (1900–1999) | Liberal | 10 December 1955 – 22 November 1958 | Previously held the Division of Darwin. Lost seat |
| Ron Davies (1919–1980) | Labor | 22 November 1958 – 13 December 1975 | Lost seat |
| Ray Groom (1944–) | Liberal | 13 December 1975 – 26 October 1984 | Served as minister under Fraser. Retired. Later elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Denison in 1986 |
| Chris Miles (1947–) | Liberal | 1 December 1984 – 3 October 1998 | Lost seat |
| Sid Sidebottom (1951–) | Labor | 3 October 1998 – 9 October 2004 | Lost seat |
| Mark Baker (1958–) | Liberal | 9 October 2004 – 24 November 2007 | Lost seat |
| Sid Sidebottom (1951–) | Labor | 24 November 2007 – 7 September 2013 | Lost seat |
| Brett Whiteley (1960–) | Liberal | 7 September 2013 – 2 July 2016 | Lost seat |
| Justine Keay (1975–) | Labor | 2 July 2016 – 10 May 2018 | Election results declared void due to dual citizenship. Subsequently re-elected. Lost seat |
| Justine Keay (1975–) | Labor | 28 July 2018 – 18 May 2019 | Election results declared void due to dual citizenship. Subsequently re-elected. Lost seat |
| Gavin Pearce (1967–) | Liberal | 18 May 2019 – present | Incumbent |

## Election results

2022 Australian federal election: Braddon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Gavin Pearce | 31,142 | 44.11 | +6.22 |
| | Labor | Chris Lynch | 15,886 | 22.50 | −9.56 |
| | Lambie | Sophie Lehmann | 6,966 | 9.87 | +9.87 |
| | Independent | Craig Garland | 5,538 | 7.84 | +7.84 |
| | Greens | Darren Briggs | 4,745 | 6.72 | +1.88 |
| | One Nation | Ludo Mineur | 3,065 | 4.34 | −1.20 |
| | United Australia | Darren Bobbermien | 1,000 | 1.42 | −2.26 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Duncan White | 971 | 1.38 | +1.38 |
| | Local | Scott Rankin | 719 | 1.02 | +1.02 |
| | Animal Justice | Keone Martin | 566 | 0.80 | +0.80 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 70,598 | 92.76 | −2.33 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 5,858 | 7.66 | +0.58 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 76,456 | 92.64 | −2.45 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal | Gavin Pearce | 40,968 | 58.03 | +4.94 |
| | Labor | Chris Lynch | 29,630 | 41.97 | −4.94 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +4.94 | |