Federal Election 2019: Where candidates performed best and worst

Who was the most – or least – popular candidate at your local polling booth? Political Editor DAVID KILLICK has crunched the numbers.

FERN Tree loves Andrew Wilkie, Risdon Vale loves Julie Collins and there are no Greens or National Party voters in Savage River.

A Mercury analysis of last week’s federal election result has revealed at which of the more than 320 polling places booths around Tasmania each major party did best — and where they did worst.

Independent MP for Clark, Mr Wilkie, was by far the most successful independent candidate to stand in Tasmania in the 2019 federal election.

And Fern Tree was the most one-sided booth in the poll too. Six out of 10 voters there cast their first preference vote for Mr Wilkie.

Independent MP for Clark Andrew Wilkie. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

His vote in Cascades, South Hobart and Taroona were all above 54 per cent. Even his least successful booth at this election, Goodwood, scored him 41.8 per cent of the vote.

In Franklin, Labor’s Julie Collins performed best on the eastern side of the Derwent with 59 per cent of the first preference votes in Ridson Vale and 56 per cent in Clarendon Vale and Rokeby.

Julie Collins proved most popular in Rokeby, Clarendon Vale and Risdon Vale. Picture: RICHARD JUPE.

Labor’s Lyons MP Brian Mitchell was at his most popular in Primrose Sands, Gagebrook and New Norfolk.

Labor’s worst polling places statewide were in Clark, where candidate Ben McGregor received just 9.15 per cent of the vote at Sandy Bay Beach. Three of the party’s six worst booths statewide were in the suburb.

Brian Mitchell polled best in Primrose Sands, Gagebrook and New Norfolk. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

Unsurprisingly, the Liberals performed best in Bass and Braddon, seats snatched from Labor. Bridget Archer enjoyed support of nearly 60 per cent of voters in Bridport and Gavin Pearce recorded 57 per cent support in Forest.

But Andrew Wilkie’s strong support saw the party vote in single figures in percentage terms at Fern Tree and Cascades.

The Greens’ Kit Darko was by far the party’s most successful candidate: recording 33 per cent of the vote among Franklin voters who cast their ballots in the Hobart City polling place.

Woodbridge, Cygnet and Kettering are the state’s Greenest booths: with 33.5 per cent, 32,2 per cent and 28.3 per cent of the vote respectively.

Greens Franklin candidate Kit Darko.

Liberal Bass candidate Bridget Archer.

Savage River booth was the party’s worst — where no votes were cast in favour of the Greens.

All of the party’s worst polling places were in Braddon: Savage River, Irishtown and Sassafras yielded just them seven votes out of a possible 698.

The Nationals benefited most from the controversy involving Liberal candidate Jessica Whelan in Lyons. Their candidate Deanna Hutchinson recorded more than a quarter of the vote in 11 booths from Tunnack to Carrick.

Nationals candidate for Lyons Deanna Hutchinson. Picture: CHRISTOPHER TESTA

But the party’s Braddon candidate Sally Milbourne suffered its three worst booths: recording no votes at all in Savage River, Tullah and Waratah.

The voters of Braddon recorded the five highest informal voting booths in the state.

In Savage River, the informal vote was 16.7 per cent, in Natone 14 per cent, at Edith Creek it was 12.9 per cent and 11.9 per cent at Tullah.

At the other end of the spectrum, none of the 522 voters at Fern Tree cast an informal ballot, nor any of the 31 who cast prepoll ballots in Franklin.