Tasmanian state election, 1972

22 April 1972

All 35 seats to the House of Assembly

	First party	Second party

Leader	Eric Reece	Angus Bethune
Party	Labor	Liberal
Leader since	26 August 1958	19 March 1960
Leader's seat	Braddon	Wilmot
Last election	17 seats	17 seats
Seats won	21 seats	14 seats
Seat change	4	3
Percentage	54.93%	38.37%
Swing	7.25	5.61

Premier before election

Angus Bethune
Liberal

Elected Premier

Eric Reece
Labor

Elections for the Tasmanian House of Assembly were held on 22 April 1972. The one-term Liberal government of Premier Angus Bethune had collapsed following the withdrawal of support by Kevin Lyons. The opposition Labor Party, led by Eric Reece, gained a clear majority and won the election.

Background

The 1969 election had resulted in a hung parliament, with the deadlock broken when Kevin Lyons of the Centre Party formed a coalition government with Angus Bethune's Liberal Party. On 15 March 1972, Lyons resigned as Deputy Premier and effectively dissolved the Liberal-Centre coalition.^[1] The resulting instability triggered an election.

The 1972 election was also notable due to the emergence and candidacy of the United Tasmania Group, the world's first Green party, formed to campaign against the proposed damming of Lake Pedder.^[2]

Results

The Liberals lost three seats, giving Labor a clear majority. Eric Reece was sworn in as Premier of Tasmania for a second time on 3 May 1972. Eric Reece also received the highest personal vote ever in Braddon, gaining 14,790 votes, or 35.4% of the vote.

The United Tasmania Group gained a respectable 3.9% of the vote, failing to gain a seat in the parliament and to stop the damming of Lake Pedder, but their efforts paved the way for the Tasmanian Greens to become a significant force in Tasmanian politics.

Tasmanian state election, 22 April 1972 House of Assembly << 1969 — 1976 >>
Enrolled voters		216,846
Votes cast		205,803		Turnout	94.91	+0.47
Informal votes		7,533		Informal	3.66	–1.00
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor	108,910	54.93	+7.25	21	+ 4
	Liberal	76,073	38.37	–5.61	14	– 3
	United Tasmania Group	7,741	3.90	+3.90	0	± 0
	Independent	5,546	2.80	+0.49	0	± 0
	Other			–6.03		– 1
Total		198,270			35

Distribution of Seats

Electorate	Seats won
Bass
Braddon
Denison
Franklin
Wilmot

	Labor
	Liberal

References

↑ Tasmanian Political Almanac - On This Day, Parliament of Tasmania.
↑ Eckersley, Robyn (1992). Environmentalism and Political Theory: Toward an Ecocentric Approach. New York: SUNY Press. p. 193. ISBN 0-7914-1013-7.

External links

"House of Assembly Election Results 22 April 1972". Tasmanian Parliamentary Library.

Elections and referendums in Tasmania

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Legislative Council elections	1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Referendums	1898 1899 1916 1968 1981

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