the proposal<\/a>, the current inner-city seat of Clark would lose Hobart’s working-class northern suburbs and expand south, becoming an urban-regional mix.<\/p>\nFranklin would represent Hobart’s eastern shore and expand up the east coast, moving its border hundreds of kilometres north.<\/p>\n
A third electorate, the sprawling and predominantly Lyons, is dragged into the mix, picking up Hobart’s northern suburbs and making it another mix of bush and city.<\/p>\n
The shake-up tilts the political calculus, making Clark less friendly to Labor, Lyons less supportive of Liberals, and crashing the Green vote in Franklin.<\/p>\n
At the federal level, the changes are unlikely to tip out the three incumbents, given their healthy margins.<\/p>\n
It gives Lyons MP Rebecca White – a rising star of the party – a headache as her home and political base is in Franklin, held by veteran Labor MP Julie Collins.<\/p>\n
“There’s a question about whether she might seek to relocate back to her home base and that could depend on what Julie does,” Mr Stansfield said.<\/p>\n
![\"Kristie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8968618742e7eeb483f12b5cc4df681a.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Kristie Johnston topped the poll in Clark at the 2025 election. (Chris Kidd\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n
That dilemma is nothing compared to the pandemonium at the state level.<\/p>\n
Tasmania’s lower house elects seven members per electorate, meaning a few thousand votes often clustered around individual towns and suburbs can get an MP elected.<\/p>\n
These changes tip several MPs into a different electorate from their key support bases, or their homes or offices.<\/p>\n
Labor leader Josh Willie – a popular figure in Glenorchy, the northern suburbs of Hobart – has a tough call to make, having to choose whether he stays in Clark or branches out into Lyons.<\/p>\n
Independent Clark MP Kristie Johnston, a former Glenorchy mayor, is another in a pickle.<\/p>\n
Under the changes, her house and electorate office would be in Lyons, and her business – a Newtown pub that was smack-bang in the middle of Clark, would move its northern fringe.<\/p>\n
“It’s going to be interesting,” Ms Johnston told AAP.<\/p>\n
“I’ll just continue to work for the people of Clark as it is, right up until it’s not Clark any more.”<\/p>\n
Several MPs face the prospect of having to move seats, move house or move their offices to fit in with their new boundaries.<\/p>\n
Like many, Ms Johnston hasn’t decided where to run next, and in any case, the redistribution will not be final for a few months.<\/p>\n
Given Labor and Liberal MPs run alongside and against each other in each electorate, there’s the thorny issue of intra-party rivalries to consider too.<\/p>\n
Several off-record conversations with party MPs, staff and supporters suggest the squeeze will be on in Clark.<\/p>\n
Former Labor leader Dean Winter is set to shift from Franklin to Clark, as is Treasurer Eric Abetz and Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff.<\/p>\n
![\"Rosalie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2b8156ae5e3fc63176e275b43f2be6b3.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Rosalie Woodruff (left) is likely on the move, while Peter George (right) is set to retire. (Ethan James\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n
Independent Peter George would also move, if not for a commitment to be a one-term MP.<\/p>\n
“In the highly unlikely event I change my mind – and risk divorce – I’d stand in Clark,” he told AAP.<\/p>\n
That would mean at least nine sitting MPs competing for seven seats, along with a suite of fresh candidates, guaranteeing political carnage.<\/p>\n
“It’ll certainly shake things up,” Mr Stansfield said.<\/p>\n
“There is going to be a lot of seat-hopping going on … some people might find themselves without a chair when the music stops.”<\/p>\n
Alternatively, there could be opportunity in Lyons.<\/p>\n
Liberal Jane Howlett and Labor’s Brian Mitchell are eyeing moves to Franklin, while Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Carlo Di Falco might follow.<\/p>\n
Despite the tumult, the three main parties all support the redistribution, with the main opposition coming from a clutch of councils keen to redraw the lines.<\/p>\n
The decision-makers are a panel that includes the Australian Electoral Commissioner, their Tasmanian equivalent and other officials.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the committee met in Hobart for a public hearing.<\/p>\n
The lectern – open to anyone who wanted a word – was the fifth opportunity during the lengthy redistribution process giving the public a say.<\/p>\n
![\"Committe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5f6e926c4b8a94067e91d3ef1b06a996.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
About a dozen people attended a public hearing, including Clark MP Andrew Wilkie. (AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n
Each contribution was thoughtful, including a well-researched historian arguing to rename Franklin to Tongerlongeter, an Aboriginal warrior who led the resistance to British settlement in the early 19th century.<\/p>\n
It was also profoundly unrepresentative, given every submitter was a man of a certain age and background.<\/p>\n
The only women in the room appeared to be AEC employees, and an attempt to contact one by phone was abandoned after a few attempts, ending the hearing after eight short speeches.<\/p>\n
“How often is a federal member actually going to make it to our neck of the woods?” said John Brown, the general manager of Break O’Day council, in the state’s northeast.<\/p>\n
Mr Brown and Break O’Day’s mayor made the six-hour round trip to Hobart to make their point, arguing they should be part of Bass, the electorate based around their key regional centre of Launceston.<\/p>\n
But even they conceded the redistribution was a zero-sum game.<\/p>\n
“We know you’ve got a difficult task. We know you have to play the numbers,” Mr Brown said.<\/p>\n
“I don’t envy you in your deliberations.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They’re only lines on a map, but they will profoundly shake up a state’s politics. The Australian Electoral…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":645831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[184905,64,63,51326,312496,312498,7168,15604,44,221046,215755,312497,312499],"class_list":["post-645830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-aap-photos","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-electoral-commission","tag-brad-stansfield","tag-federal-electorates","tag-franklin","tag-kristie-johnston","tag-news","tag-northern-suburbs","tag-rebecca-white","tag-redistribution","tag-stansfield"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/645831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Rebecca](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/deb30b319c3dba23dd7a79485adf0d2b.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n