Frankston – Victoria 2010

ALP 3.2%

Incumbent MP
Alistair Harkness, since 2002.

Geography
Southern Melbourne. Frankston covers suburbs alongside Port Phillip Bay in the southwestern corner of the City of Frankston, including the suburbs of Frankston and Frankston South.

History
A seat with the name “Frankston” has existed twice: from 1967 to 1985, and again since 1992.

The seat was first won in 1967 by Liberal minister Edward Meagher, who had served as Member for Mentone from 1955 to 1967. He served as a minister in the Liberal state government from 1961 until 1973. Meagher retired from Frankston in 1976.

Frankston was won in 1976 by Graeme Weideman. He served as a minister in the Liberal state government from 1981 to 1982, when he lost Frankston, and the Liberal government lost power.

Frankston was won by the ALP’s Jane Hill. In 1985, Frankston was abolished and replaced by Frankston North and Frankston South. Hill moved to the seat of Frankston North, and Weideman returned to Parliament as the Liberal Member for Frankston South.

In 1992, the two seats were redrawn again, being replaced by Frankston and Frankston East. Hill contested the marginal seat of Frankston East unsuccessfully, while Weideman won Frankston, which was a relatively safe Liberal seat.

Weideman retired in 1996, and was succeeded by Andrea McCall, also from the Liberal Party. McCall was re-elected in 1999.

Shortly after the 1999 Victorian state election, the Frankston East by-election was won by the ALP, bringing Labor into power. Prior to the 2002 election, Frankston East was abolished in a by-election, and bringing strong Labor areas into the seat of Frankston.

At the 2002 election, McCall lost the redrawn Frankston to the ALP’s Alistair Harkness. Harkness was re-elected in 2006.

Candidates

Political situation
Frankston is quite a marginal seat that will be one of the main Liberal targets in southeastern Melbourne.

2006 result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Alistair Harkness ALP 13,703 43.47 -4.40
Rochelle McArthur LIB 12,849 40.76 -0.29
Wendy Smith GRN 3,146 9.98 -0.52
Michael Pleiter FF 1,249 3.96 +3.96
Fletcher Davis IND 576 1.83 +1.83

2006 two-candidate-preferred result

Candidate Party Votes % Swing
Alistair Harkness ALP 16,775 53.22 -2.55
Rochelle McArthur LIB 14,748 46.78 +2.55

Booth breakdown
Booths in Frankston have been divided between those in the south of the seat and those in the north. The southern booths were won by the Liberal Party with 50.7%, while the ALP won 57.7% in the north.

 

Polling booths in Frankston at the 2006 state election. North in yellow, South in blue.

 

Voter group GRN % ALP 2CP % Total votes % of votes
South 9.54 49.29 12,323 39.08
North 10.57 57.74 11,920 37.80
Other votes 9.76 50.27 7,288 23.11
Two-party-preferred votes in Frankston at the 2006 state election.

6 COMMENTS

  1. In the 2001 redistribution, the big thing was the removal of the very affluent Mount Eliza area to the south of Frankston, where the Liberals routinely rack up 70%+ of the vote.

    It’s amazing what a hill can do. Immediately south of Frankston is a prominent hill/ridge which allows millionaires to built mansions overlooking the bay, with city views in the background. The area south of Frankston is a marked contrast to the flat plains in the north, where older lower/middle class areas and large tracts of public housing dominate (most of which are in neighbouring seats). The east and south-east of the seat are fairly standard mortgage belt, with the suburban sprawl now reaching as far as Baxter and Langwarrin.

  2. Alistair Harkness is a good local representative for Frankston. I was a former school captain at Mount Erin Secondary College for two years and I often introduced him to present awards to students at our school. His interest and support for our local school was (and still is) highly valued.

    I noticed that Brumby and Harkness came to the school again recently to engage with the young student leaders of the college and discuss the improvements they would like to see for the school, including increasing classrooms and building further learning centres so the school can offer a wider range of subjects. This commitment epitomises Harkness and Brumby’s commitment to improving education, and provides a specific example of their commitment to this local area. He also is committed to ensuring that the Frankston hospital remains well funded and fully operational (pardon the pun!)

    I wish Alistair all the best for the election and I hope he holds this seat and continues his good work for the local area!!

  3. What a difficult electorate is Frankston. With widely polarised demographics, from the rich and famous to the down and out, It is lively and challenging . Its major issue is law and order, the centre of town, through poor planning and commercial cupidity has been turned into a shopping enclave surrounded by peripheral businesses and down at heel areas which attract drug and street criminals.
    It contains one of the largest public housing estates in the State, and is the terminus for Vicrail services to the Peninsula, apart from the Stony Point track.
    Its hospital complex is a monstrously huge conglomeration of buildings and services, but still fails to satisfy the demand for health services in the area.
    Alistair Harkness has managed to service this electorate with dignity and energy, and has been available to give help when needed and support when required. He holds the seat with a 3% margin which I for one would like to see increased as a vote of confidence. I think of Geoff Shaw as representing commercial interests.

  4. Candidates in ballot paper order are:

    Denise De Graaff – DLP
    Simon Tiller – Greens
    Shem Bennett – Sex Party
    Michael Pleiter – Family First
    Alistair Harkness – Labor
    Quinn McCormack –
    Geoff Shaw – Liberal

  6. A very disappointing result here, not just as a Labor voter but as a local community member. As I previously mentioned Dr Harkness was a great local member and I am dismayed that Frankston has lost a great MP here who showed much promise and had more to offer the community. I just hope that Mr Shaw does not neglect the local public schools, such as my old high school, and contributes as much as Brumby and Harkness promised.

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