1989 Tasmanian state election

State election in Australia April 2022 April 2023 1989 Tasmanian state election Tasmania parliamentary no 1986 Tasmanian state election 1986 1992 Tasmanian state election 1992 All 35 seats to the House of Assembly 18 13 May 1989 Robin Gray 1975.jpg 120 120 170 0 0 Robin Gray 10 November 1981 Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division) Lyons 19 seats 17 2 128,143 46.92% 7.28 Labor Placeholder.png 120 120 160 0 0 Michael Field 14 December 1988 Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) Braddon 14 seats 13 1 94,809 34.71% 0.43 Bob Brown.jpg 140 130 170 0 0 center Bob Brown 1983 Green independents Denison 2 seats 5 3 46,797 17.13% 11.58 1989 Tasmanian state election.svg 350px Results of the election Premier Resulting Premier Robin Gray Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division) Michael Field Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) The 1989 Tasmanian state election was held on 13 May 1989 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation systemHouse of Assembly Elections https://web.archive.org/web/20180709035743/http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/tpl/Backg/HAElections.htm 9 July 2018 , Parliament of Tasmania. — seven members were elected from each of five electorates. The quota required for election was 12.5% in each division. The incumbent Liberal government headed by Robin Gray hoped to secure a third term in office. The Labor Party was headed by Michael Field. The independents, who each ran under the name "The Independents" and were commonly referred to as "Green independents", were informally headed by Bob Brown. The Australian Democrats contested all electorates except Braddon. Green independent candidates were run in all electorates where they previously only fielded candidates in the south. Prior to the election the Liberals held 19 of the 35 seats in parliament. The Labor Party held 14 and there were two Green independents. This was the last election that a Premier, in Gray, had fought a second consecutive election until 2025. Results Results of the Tasmanian state election, 1989 310066 File:1989 TAS House of Assembly.svg 15438 -0.74 -0.58 Liberal #080cab 128143 -7.28 17 2 Labor #f00011 94809 -0.43 13 1 Ind. Green #10c25b 46797 +11.58 5 3 Democrats 2451 -1.16 0 Independents 937 -2.71 0 Popular vote var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Liberal Liberal Party of Australia 46.92 Labor Australian Labor Party 34.71 Democrats Australian Democrats 0.90 Independents Independent 17.48 Seats var(--background-color-interactive) 600px 410px Liberal Liberal Party of Australia 48.57 Labor Australian Labor Party 37.14 Independents Independent 14.29 Distribution of votes Primary vote by division Bass Braddon Denison Franklin Lyons Labor Party 37.4% 29.9% 36.9% 38.3% 31.0% Liberal Party 47.3% 57.5% 38.4% 40.1% 51.4% Independent Greens 14.1% 11.5% 23.5% 19.7% 16.8% Other 1.1% 1.2% 1.3% 1.8% 0.7% Distribution of seats auto Electorate Seats won Bass               Braddon               Denison               Franklin               Lyons               5em   Labor   Liberal   Ind. Green Aftermath After the election the Liberals had lost its majority by one seat and the Green Independents gained the balance of power. The Labor Party had suffered a minor swing against them, losing one seat in Lyons to the Greens. The Green Independents succeeded in electing one member to every electorate. This election victory would help form the official party today known as the Tasmanian Greens. Bob Brown topped the poll in Denison and was first member elected. Their primary vote of 17.1% was a record for Green movements and the highest until the 2002 Tasmanian election. The Liberals, determined to stay in government, tried to call a second election. Gray started a petition which attracted many signatures. Edmund Rouse attempted to bribe newly elected Labor member Jim Cox with $110,000 if he would cross the floor to support Gray instead of Field. Cox refused and reported the bribe to police. Rouse served 18 months in jail and allegations surfaced that the Liberal party was involved. A later inquiry concluded there was no evidence Gray was connected to the bribe. Labor Party leader Michael Field formed a loose alliance with the Green Independents which became known as the Labor–Green Accord. After the alliance was formed, the Green Independents joined with Labor to vote down the Liberals' nominee for Speaker and to amend the Address-In-Reply to include a statement of no-confidence in Gray and his government.Hansard, 28 May 1989 Unusually, Governor Phillip Bennett sought individual assurances from each of the independents of their support for Field, despite the passing of the statement of no confidence.Alex Castles September 1990 Post‑Election Constitutional Usage in the Shadow of Mount Wellington: Tasmania's Constitutional Crisis, 1989 Adelaide Law Review 12 3 292–305 https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AdelLawRw/1990/2.pdf 0065-1915 Having been defeated on the floor of the legislature, Gray resigned and Michael Field became Premier. See also Candidates of the 1989 Tasmanian state election Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1989–1992 References Parliament of Tasmania election results https://web.archive.org/web/20060820111419/http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/tpl/Elections/E1989.htm 20 August 2006 Category:Elections in Tasmania Tasmanian state election State election, 1989 Tasmanian state election