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.

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

PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
Labor90,27847.68Decrease 3.6417Decrease 2
Liberal83,26143.98Increase 5.4917Increase 1
Centre Party[a]8,1604.31Decrease 0.941Increase 1
Independents4,3662.31Decrease 0.790Steady
Democratic Labor3,2581.72Decrease 0.070Steady
Total189,323100.0035
Valid votes189,32395.34
Invalid/blank votes9,2484.66Increase 0.34
Total votes198,571100.00
Registered voters/turnout210,26894.44Decrease 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 MPs.

Distribution of votes

Primary vote by division

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

Aftermath

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

References

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