1982 Tasmanian state election

The Tasmanian state election, 1982 was held on 15 May 1982 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 quota required for election was 12.5% in each division.

1982 Tasmanian state election

15 May 1982
All 35 seats to the House of Assembly
First party Second party Third party   Leader Robin Gray Harry Holgate Norm Sanders Party Liberal Labor Democrats Leader since 11 November 1981 11 November 1981 Leader's seat Wilmot Bass Denison Last election 15 seats 20 seats 0 seats Seats won 19 seats 14 seats 1 seat Seat change 4 6 1 Percentage 48.52% 36.86% 5.39% Swing 7.21 17.46 2.52
Premier before election Harry Holgate Labor Elected Premier Robin Gray Liberal

The incumbent Labor Party, in power since 1972 and led by Premier Harry Holgate, was defeated by the opposition Liberal Party, led by Robin Gray.

The proposed Franklin Dam was a major issue around the time of the election.

The Australian Democrats contested all electorates. Independent Green candidates contested the electorate of Denison only.

Results

See also: Results of the Tasmanian state election, 1982

The Liberal Party won a comfortable majority. Not only was this only the second time in 48 years that Labor had been out of office in Tasmania, but it was the first time in 51 years that the main non-Labor party in Tasmania had won an outright majority at an election. The Democrats' Norm Sanders retained his seat, which had originally been won at the Denison state by-election in 1980. Former Labor premier Doug Lowe also retained his seat as an independent.

Tasmanian state election, 15 May 1982 House of Assembly << 1979–1986 >>
Enrolled voters		283,549
Votes cast		265,101		Turnout	93.49	–0.27
Informal votes		15,055		Informal	5.66%	+1.81%
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Liberal	121,346	48.52	+7.21	19	+ 4
	Labor	92,184	36.86	–17.46	14	– 6
	Democrats	13,476	5.39	+2.52	1	+ 1
	Ind. Labor	12,432	4.97	+4.97	1	+ 1
	Ind. Green^[1]	4,273	1.71	+1.71	0	± 0
	Independent	6,385	2.55	+1.05	0	± 0
Total		250,096			35

¹ The Independent Labor label refers to the separate campaigns by former Premier Doug Lowe and Labor MHA Mary Willey.

² The Green vote referred to here is Bob Brown's campaign in the seat of Denison, where he attained 8.6% of the vote.

Distribution of Seats

Electorate Seats won Bass               Braddon               Denison               Franklin               Wilmot

Labor   Liberal   Democrats   Independent

Aftermath

Democrat Norm Sanders resigned in late 1982 and independent Green Bob Brown was elected as his replacement after a recount of votes.

See also

• Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1982–1986
• Candidates of the Tasmanian state election, 1982

References

1. House of Assembly Elections, Parliament of Tasmania.

• "House of Assembly Election Results 15 May 1982". Tasmanian Parliamentary Library.