1986 Tasmanian state election

The 1986 Tasmanian state election was held on 8 February 1986 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 — seven members were elected from each of five electorates. The quota required for election was 12.5% in each division.

1986 Tasmanian state election

8 February 1986
All 35 seats to the House of Assembly
First party Second party Third party   Leader Robin Gray Ken Wriedt Bob Brown Party Liberal Labor Ind. Green Leader since 11 November 1981 27 May 1982 1983 Leader's seat Lyons Franklin Denison Last election 19 seats 14 seats 0 seats Seats won 19 14 2 Seat change 2 Percentage 54.2% 35.14% 5.55% Swing 5.68 1.72 3.84
Results of the election
Premier before election Robin Gray Liberal Elected Premier Robin Gray Liberal

The incumbent Liberal government headed by Robin Gray hoped to secure a second term in office. The Labor Party was headed by Ken Wriedt. The Green independents were headed by Bob Brown. The Australian Democrats contested the electorates of Braddon and Bass. Green candidates contested the electorates of Denison and Franklin.

Prior to the election the Liberals held 18 of the 35 seats in parliament. The Labor Party held 14, and there were three independents—former Labor Premier Doug Lowe, Green independent Bob Brown, and ex-Liberal MHA Gabriel Haros.

Results

See also: Results of the Tasmanian state election, 1986

The representation of the Liberal and Labor parties remained unchanged after the election, at 19 and 14 respectively, leaving Robin Gray's Liberal government in power. It was the first time in 58 years that a non-Labor government had won a second term in Tasmania.

The Greens increased their representation from one to two, with Gerry Bates replacing independent Doug Lowe as the seventh member for the Division of Franklin (Lowe did not contest the election).

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Liberal	138,836	54.20	5.68	19
	Labor	90,003	35.14	1.72	14
	Ind. Green	14,227	5.55	3.84	2	1
	Independents	6,385	2.49	0.50	0
	Democrats	5,272	2.06	3.33	0
	Others	1,438	0.56	4.97	0	1
Total		256,161	100.00	–	35	–
Valid votes		256,161	94.07
Invalid/blank votes		16,145	5.93	0.27
Total votes		272,306	100.00	–
Registered voters/turnout		290,277	93.81	0.34

Distribution of votes

Primary vote by division

	Bass	Braddon	Denison	Franklin	Lyons
Labor Party	37.4%	34.1%	30.8%	36.5%	36.9%
Liberal Party	56.2%	60.1%	43.6%	51.6%	59.4%
Independent Greens	—	—	15.9%	11.9%	—
Other	6.4%	5.8%	9.7%	—	3.6%

Distribution of seats

Electorate	Seats won
Bass
Braddon
Denison
Franklin
Lyons

	Labor
	Liberal
	Ind. Green

Aftermath

Shortly after the election, Ken Wreidt was replaced as Labor leader by Neil Batt.

See also

• Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1986–1989
• Candidates of the 1986 Tasmanian state election
• Results of the Tasmanian state election, 1986

References

• "House of Assembly Election Results 8 February 1986". Tasmanian Parliamentary Library.