1969 Tasmanian state election

The 1969 Tasmanian state election was held on 10 May 1969 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system[1] — seven members were elected from each of five electorates.

1969 Tasmanian state election

← 1964 10 May 1969 1972 →

All 35 seats to the House of Assembly
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Eric Reece Angus Bethune Kevin Lyons
Party Labor Liberal Centre
Leader since 26 August 1958 19 March 1960 1969
Leader's seat Braddon Wilmot Braddon
Last election 19 seats 16 seats 0 seats
Seats won 17 17 1 seats
Seat change Decrease2 Increase1 Increase1
Popular vote 90,278 83,261 8,160
Percentage 47.68% 43.98% 4.31%
Swing Decrease3.64 Increase5.49 Decrease0.94

Results of the election

Premier before election

Eric Reece
Labor

Resulting Premier

Angus Bethune
Liberal

The incumbent Labor Party, which had been in power continuously since 1934, was led by Eric Reece, who had been premier of Tasmania since 1958. The opposition Liberal Party was led by Angus Bethune.

The election resulted in a hung parliament, with the Labor and Liberal parties on 17 seats each (out of 35). The balance of power was held by Kevin Lyons, a former Liberal who had quit the party in 1966 after a dispute over preselection and formed the Centre Party. Lyons approached Bethune with an offer for a coalition government with himself as Deputy Premier. Bethune agreed, allowing him to form government by one seat—thus consigning Labor to opposition for the first time in 35 years.

Results

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PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
Labor90,27847.68  3.6417  2
Liberal83,26143.98  5.4917  1
Centre Party[a]8,1604.31  0.941  1
Independents4,3662.31  0.790 
Democratic Labor3,2581.72  0.070 
Total189,323100.0035
Valid votes189,32395.34
Invalid/blank votes9,2484.66  0.34
Total votes198,571100.00
Registered voters/turnout210,26894.44  0.99
Popular vote
Labor
47.68%
Liberal
43.98%
Centre Party
4.31%
Labor (Anti-Communist)
1.72%
Independents
2.31%
Seats
Labor
48.57%
Liberal
48.57%
Centre Party
2.89%
a The Centre Party was composed out of the former Country Party in Tasmania, and was supported by federal Country MHRs.

Distribution of votes

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Primary vote by division

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Bass Braddon Denison Franklin Wilmot
Labor Party 42.4% 53.7% 43.7% 52.1% 46.5%
Liberal Party 46.2% 34.4% 47.4% 44.2% 48.0%
Other 11.5% 11.9% 8.9% 3.7% 5.5%

Distribution of seats

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Aftermath

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The Liberal-Centre coalition lasted for one term, with Lyons dissolving the partnership in 1972. The resulting instability triggered an election, which was easily won by Eric Reece and the Labor Party.

See also

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References

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  • "House of Assembly Election Results 10 May 1969". Tasmanian Parliamentary Library.