Division of Bass

This article is about the federal electorate. For the Tasmanian state electorate, see Division of Bass (state). For the Victorian state electorate, see Electoral district of Bass.

The Division of Bass is an Australian electoral division in Tasmania.

Bass Australian House of Representatives Division
Interactive map of boundaries since the 2019 federal election
Created	1903
MP	Jess Teesdale
Party	Labor
Namesake	George Bass
Electors	80,392 (2025)
Area	7,975 km2 (3,079.2 sq mi)
Demographic	Provincial
State electorate(s)	Bass
Electorates around Bass: Bass Strait Bass Strait Bass Strait Braddon Bass Tasman Sea Lyons Lyons Lyons

It includes most of the city of Launceston and its surrounds. It has traditionally been a marginal seat and has had more members than any other federal electorate.

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.^[1] In addition to Launceston, Bass encompasses the Furneaux Group of islands, George Town, West Tamar, and Dorset.^[2]

History

George Bass, the division's namesake

The division was one of the five established when the former Division of Tasmania was redistributed on 2 October 1903 and is named for the explorer George Bass. It has always been based on the city of Launceston and surrounding rural areas, and its boundaries have changed very little in the century since its creation. For most of its history it has been a marginal seat, changing hands between the Australian Labor Party and the conservative parties—since 1949 the Liberal Party. Its most notable member has been Lance Barnard, who was Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government. His resignation in 1975 was followed by Labor's heavy defeat in the Bass by-election, which is seen as the beginning of the end of the Whitlam government.

The Liberals won the seat at the 2019 election, retaining it for two terms before losing it to Jess Teesdale of the Labor Party in the 2025 election.

Bass has had the most different members of any federal electorate at eighteen.

Members

Image		Member	Party	Term	Notes
		David Storrer (1854–1935)	Protectionist	16 December 1903 – 26 May 1909	Previously held the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Launceston. Lost seat
			Independent	26 May 1909 – 13 April 1910
		Jens Jensen (1865–1936)	Labor	13 April 1910 – 14 November 1916	Previously held the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Wilmot. Served as minister under Fisher and Hughes. Lost seat. Later elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Bass in 1922
			National Labor	14 November 1916 – 17 February 1917
			Nationalist	17 February 1917 – 1919
			Independent	1919 – 13 December 1919
		Syd Jackson (1889–1941)	Nationalist	13 December 1919 – 12 October 1929	Lost seat
		Allan Guy (1890–1979)	Labor	12 October 1929 – March 1931	Previously held the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Bass. Served as minister under Lyons. Lost seat. Later elected to the Division of Wilmot in 1940
			Independent	March 1931 – 7 May 1931
			United Australia	7 May 1931 – 15 September 1934
		Claude Barnard (1890–1957)	Labor	15 September 1934 – 10 December 1949	Served as minister under Chifley. Lost seat. Later elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Bass in 1950. Son was Lance Barnard
		Bruce Kekwick (1910–1982)	Liberal	10 December 1949 – 29 May 1954	Lost seat
		Lance Barnard (1919–1997)	Labor	29 May 1954 – 2 June 1975	Served as minister and Deputy Prime Minister under Whitlam. Resigned to become Australian Ambassador to Sweden, Norway and Finland. Father was Claude Barnard
		Kevin Newman (1933–1999)	Liberal	28 June 1975 – 26 October 1984	Served as minister under Fraser. Retired
		Warwick Smith (1954–)		1 December 1984 – 13 March 1993	Lost seat
		Silvia Smith (1939–2020)	Labor	13 March 1993 – 2 March 1996	Lost seat. Later elected to the Tasmanian Legislative Council in 1997
		Warwick Smith (1954–)	Liberal	2 March 1996 – 3 October 1998	Served as minister under Howard. Lost seat
		Michelle O'Byrne (1968–)	Labor	3 October 1998 – 9 October 2004	Lost seat. Later elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Bass in 2006
		Michael Ferguson (1974–)	Liberal	9 October 2004 – 24 November 2007	Lost seat. Later elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Bass in 2010
		Jodie Campbell (1972–)	Labor	24 November 2007 – 19 July 2010	Retired
		Geoff Lyons (1953–)		21 August 2010 – 7 September 2013	Lost seat
		Andrew Nikolic (1961–)	Liberal	7 September 2013 – 2 July 2016	Lost seat
		Ross Hart (1960–)	Labor	2 July 2016 – 18 May 2019	Lost seat
		Bridget Archer (1975–)	Liberal	18 May 2019 – 3 May 2025	Lost seat
		Jess Teesdale	Labor	3 May 2025 – present	Incumbent

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of Bass

2025 Australian federal election: Bass^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Jess Teesdale	27,216	39.77	+11.16
	Liberal	Bridget Archer	21,548	31.49	−8.24
	Greens	Charlene McLennan	8,687	12.69	+1.59
	One Nation	Jordan Potter	4,416	6.45	+1.74
	Independent	George Razay	3,687	5.39	+0.36
	Trumpet of Patriots	Ray Broomhall	2,200	3.21	+3.21
	Citizens	Caroline Larner	677	0.99	+0.99
Total formal votes			68,431	95.98	+1.91
Informal votes			2,869	4.02	−1.91
Turnout			71,300	88.69	−3.26
Two-party-preferred result
	Labor	Jess Teesdale	39,620	57.90	+9.33
	Liberal	Bridget Archer	28,811	42.10	−9.33
	Labor gain from Liberal		Swing	+9.33

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2025 Australian federal election in Tasmania § Bass.[edit]

Results are not final. Last updated on 14 May 2025 at 12:20 PM AEST.