Forrest — Australian Federal Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Forrest was won by Nola Marino (Liberal) at the 2019 federal election, with a margin of 26,348 votes over Wayne Sanford after preferences. This page covers every federal election in Forrest from 1922 to 2019.

Australia uses instant-runoff (preferential) voting: voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no one has a majority of first-preference votes, the lowest-placed candidate is eliminated and their votes redistributed to voters' next preference, repeating until one candidate has a majority. The "Winner" and "Margin" below reflect the final result after preferences (equivalent to the AEC's own two-candidate-preferred figure) — not simply whoever led on first preferences, which can occasionally be a different candidate.

Full Election History (After Preferences), 1922–2019

Election	Winner	Party	Final Votes	Final Share	Runner-up	Margin
1922	John Prowse	Country Party	10,007	79.5%	Peter Wedd (National)	7,431 (59.1 pts)
1925	John Prowse	Country Party	21,760	60.9%	Thomas Lowry (Labor)	7,784 (21.8 pts)
1928	John Prowse	Country Party	21,463	60.4%	Cornelius Buckley (Labor)	7,414 (20.9 pts)
1929	John Prowse	Country Party	-1	100.0%	None (None)	-1 (100.0 pts)
1931	John Prowse	Country Party	-1	100.0%	None (None)	-1 (100.0 pts)
1934	John Prowse	Country Party	20,676	59.6%	Edwin Davies (Labor)	6,678 (19.3 pts)
1937	John Prowse	Country Party	22,894	54.4%	Ernest Hoar (Labor)	3,741 (8.9 pts)
1940	John Prowse	Country Party	24,619	55.4%	Vane Green (Labor)	4,787 (10.8 pts)
1943	Nelson Lemmon	Labor	23,931	60.7%	John Prowse (Country Party)	8,424 (21.4 pts)
1946	Nelson Lemmon	Labor	23,944	64.2%	James Cumming (Liberal)	10,595 (28.4 pts)
1949	Gordon Freeth	Liberal	19,217	52.8%	Nelson Lemmon (Labor)	2,026 (5.6 pts)
1951	Gordon Freeth	Liberal	22,287	59.5%	Frederick O'connor (Labor)	7,116 (19.0 pts)
1954	Gordon Freeth	Liberal	23,643	57.7%	Frederick O'connor (Labor)	6,312 (15.4 pts)
1955	Gordon Freeth	Liberal	-1	100.0%	None (None)	-1 (100.0 pts)
1958	Gordon Freeth	Liberal	19,273	57.1%	Ernest Stapleton (Labor)	4,793 (14.2 pts)
1961	Gordon Freeth	Liberal	22,275	57.5%	Ernest Stapleton (Labor)	5,813 (15.0 pts)
1963	Gordon Freeth	Liberal	20,921	56.8%	Robert Smithson (Labor)	5,022 (13.6 pts)
1966	Gordon Freeth	Liberal	20,834	56.9%	Frank Kirwan (Labor)	5,038 (13.8 pts)
1969	Frank Kirwan	Labor	23,798	51.1%	Gordon Freeth (Liberal)	1,054 (2.3 pts)
1972	Peter Drummond	Liberal	25,615	53.6%	Frank Kirwan (Labor)	3,422 (7.2 pts)
1974	Peter Drummond	Liberal	32,689	61.4%	Albert Newman (Labor)	12,181 (22.9 pts)
1975	Peter Drummond	Liberal	30,158	61.3%	Geoffrey Davy (Labor)	11,083 (22.5 pts)
1977	Peter Drummond	Liberal	33,196	61.4%	Allan Drake-Brockman (Labor)	12,341 (22.8 pts)
1980	Peter Drummond	Liberal	31,005	58.8%	Walter Macmillan (Labor)	9,256 (17.5 pts)
1983	Peter Drummond	Liberal	33,735	51.4%	David Churches (Labor)	1,850 (2.8 pts)
1984	Peter Drummond	Liberal	31,202	52.4%	Peter Holland (Labor)	2,875 (4.8 pts)
1987	Geoffrey Prosser	Liberal	33,678	53.1%	Gerry Thompson (Labor)	3,941 (6.2 pts)
1990	Geoff Prosser	Liberal	39,328	59.9%	Simon Keely (Labor)	13,013 (19.8 pts)
1993	Geoff Prosser	Liberal	44,124	61.7%	Peter Proctor (Labor)	16,774 (23.5 pts)
1996	Geoff Prosser	Liberal	47,821	63.6%	Ann Mills (Labor)	20,501 (27.3 pts)
1998	Geoff Prosser	Liberal	42,775	56.9%	Tony Dean (Labor)	10,354 (13.8 pts)
2001	Geoff Prosser	Liberal	43,049	57.6%	Tresslyn Smith (Labor)	11,377 (15.2 pts)
2004	Geoff Prosser	Liberal	46,871	60.5%	Tresslyn Smith (Labor)	16,206 (20.9 pts)
2007	Nola Marino	Liberal	47,871	55.8%	Peter Macfarlane (Labor)	9,992 (11.7 pts)
2010	Nola Marino	Liberal	47,343	58.7%	Jackie Jarvis (Labor)	14,086 (17.5 pts)
2013	Nola Marino	Liberal	53,198	62.3%	John Borlini (Labor)	20,973 (24.6 pts)
2016	Nola Marino	Liberal	52,981	62.6%	Lorrae Loud (Labor)	21,271 (25.1 pts)
2019	Nola Marino	Liberal	58,405	64.6%	Wayne Sanford (Labor)	26,348 (29.1 pts)

First-Preference Result by Election

Every candidate's first-preference votes, before any preference redistribution.

1922

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
John Prowse	Country Party	10,007	79.5%
Peter Wedd	National	2,576	20.5%

1925

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
John Prowse	Country Party	21,760	60.9%
Thomas Lowry	Labor	13,976	39.1%

1928

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
John Prowse	Country Party	21,463	60.4%
Cornelius Buckley	Labor	14,049	39.6%

1929

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
John Prowse	Country Party	-1	100.0%

1931

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
John Prowse	Country Party	-1	100.0%

1934

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
John Prowse	Country Party	18,996	47.2%
Edwin Davies	Labor	11,660	29.0%
Cecil Elsegood	Country Party	4,826	12.0%
Henry Squance	Independent	4,734	11.8%

1937

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
John Prowse	Country Party	22,894	54.4%
Ernest Hoar	Labor	19,153	45.6%

1940

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
John Prowse	Country Party	24,619	55.4%
Vane Green	Labor	19,832	44.6%

1943

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Nelson Lemmon	Labor	23,931	52.9%
John Prowse	Country Party	15,507	34.3%
Ian Fergusson-Stewart	Independent	3,264	7.2%
Arthur West	Independent	2,156	4.8%
Wildred Lewis	Independent	377	0.8%

1946

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Nelson Lemmon	Labor	23,944	50.1%
James Cumming	Liberal	13,349	28.0%
Jasper Norton	Country Party	10,466	21.9%

1949

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Nelson Lemmon	Labor	15,935	43.8%
Arnold Potts	Country Party	10,003	27.5%
Gordon Freeth	Liberal	9,828	27.0%
James Bolitho	Independent	642	1.8%

1951

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Gordon Freeth	Liberal	22,287	59.5%
Frederick O'connor	Labor	15,171	40.5%

1954

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Gordon Freeth	Liberal	23,643	57.7%
Frederick O'connor	Labor	17,331	42.3%

1955

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Gordon Freeth	Liberal	-1	100.0%

1958

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Gordon Freeth	Liberal	19,273	51.6%
Ernest Stapleton	Labor	14,480	38.8%
Arthur Addis	Democratic Labor Party	3,600	9.6%

1961

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Gordon Freeth	Liberal	22,275	57.5%
Ernest Stapleton	Labor	16,462	42.5%

1963

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Gordon Freeth	Liberal	20,921	52.1%
Robert Smithson	Labor	15,899	39.6%
Frank Oates	Independent	3,304	8.2%

1966

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Gordon Freeth	Liberal	20,834	51.1%
Frank Kirwan	Labor	15,796	38.7%
Maurice Bailey	Democratic Labor Party	4,163	10.2%

1969

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Frank Kirwan	Labor	22,149	47.6%
Gordon Freeth	Liberal	19,955	42.9%
Henry Sullivan	Democratic Labor Party	3,332	7.2%
Anthony Montgomery	AP	1,106	2.4%

1972

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Frank Kirwan	Labor	20,843	43.6%
Peter Drummond	Liberal	15,304	32.0%
David Reid	Country Party	9,723	20.3%
John Fleeton	Democratic Labor Party	1,483	3.1%
Russell Moffet	AP	455	1.0%

1974

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Peter Drummond	Liberal	24,860	46.7%
Albert Newman	Labor	19,801	37.2%
Terence Best	Independent	7,967	15.0%
Lawrence Gibson	AP	569	1.1%

1975

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Peter Drummond	Liberal	30,158	54.7%
Geoffrey Davy	Labor	19,075	34.6%
Noel Klopper	National Country Party	5,134	9.3%
Noel Duggan	Independent	484	0.9%
Duncan Hordacre	Independent	290	0.5%

1977

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Peter Drummond	Liberal	30,723	48.4%
Allan Drake-Brockman	Labor	17,640	27.8%
John Gardiner	National Country Party	8,183	12.9%
Donald Stewart	Australian Democrats	4,466	7.0%
Reginald Crabb	Independent	2,495	3.9%

1980

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Peter Drummond	Liberal	31,005	51.3%
Walter Macmillan	Labor	21,749	36.0%
Alfred Bussell	Australian Democrats	4,206	7.0%
Francis Timms	National Country Party	3,468	5.7%

1983

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Peter Drummond	Liberal	32,076	48.9%
David Churches	Labor	29,643	45.2%
Donald Stewart	Australian Democrats	2,416	3.7%
Alfred Bussell	Independent	1,485	2.3%

1984

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Peter Drummond	Liberal	30,009	50.4%
Peter Holland	Labor	27,177	45.7%
Anne Fussell	Australian Democrats	1,701	2.9%
Alfred Bussell	Independent	646	1.1%

1987

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Geoffrey Prosser	Liberal	27,925	44.0%
Gerry Thompson	Labor	26,764	42.2%
Joe Chambers	National	5,175	8.2%
David Churches	Australian Democrats	3,553	5.6%

1990

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Geoff Prosser	Liberal	31,770	48.3%
Simon Keely	Labor	19,219	29.2%
Liz Watson	Greens	5,742	8.7%
David Churches	Australian Democrats	4,760	7.2%
Rick Beatty	National	4,245	6.5%

1993

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Geoff Prosser	Liberal	40,099	56.1%
Peter Proctor	Labor	21,964	30.7%
Jill Reading	Greens	5,869	8.2%
David Churches	Australian Democrats	3,581	5.0%

1996

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Geoff Prosser	Liberal	43,067	57.0%
Ann Mills	Labor	21,920	29.0%
Basil Schur	Greens	5,537	7.3%
Ronald Hellyer	Australian Democrats	3,864	5.1%
Alexander Marsden	Independent	1,181	1.6%

1998

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Geoff Prosser	Liberal	32,171	42.8%
Tony Dean	Labor	20,332	27.0%
Paddy Embry	One Nation	10,029	13.3%
Paul Llewellyn	Greens	5,303	7.1%
Steve Thomas	National	2,354	3.1%
Alf Denman	Australian Democrats	2,253	3.0%
Jim Cummins	Christian Democratic Party	1,316	1.8%
Ted Stone	Independent	897	1.2%
Jon Doust	Independent	424	0.6%
John Watson	Independent	117	0.2%

2001

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Geoff Prosser	Liberal	34,392	46.0%
Tresslyn Smith	Labor	22,872	30.6%
Alan Giorgi	One Nation	7,510	10.1%
Paul Llewellyn	Greens	5,359	7.2%
Alison Wylie	Australian Democrats	2,477	3.3%
Charles Caldwell	National	1,397	1.9%
Megan Kirwan	Independent	433	0.6%
Arthur Harvey	Independent	281	0.4%

2004

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Geoff Prosser	Liberal	41,422	53.4%
Tresslyn Smith	Labor	21,665	27.9%
Kingsley Gibson	Greens	6,549	8.4%
Alan Giorgi	One Nation	2,667	3.4%
Adam Welch	Australian Democrats	1,311	1.7%
Linda Rose	FFP	1,281	1.7%
Shane Flanegan	Christian Democratic Party	1,242	1.6%
Ken Vagg	Independent	1,075	1.4%
Ian Tuffnell	CEC	334	0.4%

2007

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Nola Marino	Liberal	38,928	45.4%
Peter Macfarlane	Labor	25,883	30.2%
Noel Brunning	Independent	9,924	11.6%
Kingsley Gibson	Greens	7,150	8.3%
John Lewis	Christian Democratic Party	1,643	1.9%
Leighton Knoll	Family First	1,150	1.3%
Jodie Yardley	One Nation	928	1.1%
Ian Tuffnell	Independent	144	0.2%

2010

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Nola Marino	Liberal	39,460	49.0%
Jackie Jarvis	Labor	22,724	28.2%
Luke Petersen	Greens	10,863	13.5%
Cale Hill	National	4,822	6.0%
Bev Custers	Family First	1,573	2.0%
Lee Herridge	Christian Democratic Party	1,158	1.4%

2013

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Nola Marino	Liberal	42,640	49.9%
John Borlini	Labor	21,579	25.3%
Gordon Tayler	Greens	8,136	9.5%
Michael Rose	National	5,338	6.2%
Edward Dabrowski	Palmer United Party	4,301	5.0%
Wayne Barnett	Independent	1,374	1.6%
Bev Custers	Family First	1,270	1.5%
Mark Morien	Independent	581	0.7%
Ian Tufnell	Independent	204	0.2%

2016

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Nola Marino	Liberal	41,869	49.4%
Lorrae Loud	Labor	19,596	23.1%
Jill Reading	Greens	10,137	12.0%
Luke Pilkington	National	4,306	5.1%
Ross Slater	Independent	2,896	3.4%
David Fishlock	Independent	2,375	2.8%
Edward Dabrowski	AC	1,858	2.2%
Jennifer Whately	RUA	1,654	2.0%

2019

Candidate	Party	First-Pref. Votes	Share
Nola Marino	Liberal	47,470	52.5%
Wayne Sanford	Labor	19,126	21.1%
Nerilee Boshammer	Greens	11,645	12.9%
Kalven Jamieson	One Nation	5,371	5.9%
Mark Mccall	SFF	2,881	3.2%
Dale Bromley	United Australia Party	1,564	1.7%
Alexander Marsden	Independent	1,238	1.4%
Ian Molyneux	WAP	1,167	1.3%

Margin Over Time

Final (after-preferences) winning margin, percentage points, coloured by the winning party.

Trend

Forrest has been contested at 38 federal elections on record since 1922. Winning parties over that span: Country Party, Labor, Liberal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Forrest in the 2019 federal election?

Nola Marino (Liberal) won Forrest in 2019 after preferences, with 58,405 votes (64.6%) to Wayne Sanford's 32,057.

Which parties have won Forrest since 1922?

Since 1922, Forrest has been won by: Country Party, Labor, Liberal.

What was the closest result in Forrest?

The closest result on record for Forrest was 1969, when Frank Kirwan (Labor) beat Gordon Freeth by 1,054 votes (2.3 percentage points) after preferences.