Tasmanian state election, 1928

Tasmanian state election, 1928

30 May 1928

All 30 seats to the House of Assembly   First party Second party   Leader John McPhee Joseph Lyons Party Nationalist Labor Leader since July 1925 November 1916 Leader's seat Denison Wilmot Last election 11 seats 16 seats Seats won 15 seats 14 seats Seat change 4 2 Percentage 42.20% 47.15% Swing 2.83 1.32

Premier before election Joseph Lyons Labor Resulting Premier John McPhee Nationalist

A general election for the House of Assembly was held in the Australian state of Tasmania on 30 May 1928 (a Wednesday).

Background

The 1925 election had seen Labor win in a landslide, and the Nationalist Party lose five seats in the House of Assembly. In 1928, leading up to the election, the Nationalists reverted to "hard politics", criticising Labor Premier Joseph Lyons for an increasing unemployment problem and economic stagnation. This shift was much to the chagrin of Lyons, who had encouraged cordial relations with the Nationalists, and referred to their leader John McPhee as a "colleague and mate".^[1]

Results

Tasmanian state election, 30 May 1928 House of Assembly << 1925 — 1931 >>
Enrolled voters		111,956
Votes cast		91,679		Turnout	81.89%	+14.63%
Informal votes		2,973		Informal	3.24%	+1.02%
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor	41,829	47.15%	–1.32%	14	– 2
	Nationalist^[1]	37,432	42.20%	+2.83%	15	+ 4
	Independent Labor	1,982	2.23%	–1.22%	0	± 0
	Independent	7,461	8.41%	–0.30%	1	– 2
Total		88,706			30

¹ Prior to the 1925 election, the Nationalist Party had split with a number of candidates, including former Premier Walter Lee, contesting the election under a "Liberal" banner. The grouping subsequently reunited with the Nationalists.

Distribution of Seats

Electorate Seats won Bass             Darwin             Denison             Franklin             Wilmot

Labor   Nationalist   Independent

Aftermath

The Labor Party won a slim majority of the vote in the 1928 election, but only fourteen seats. As the Nationalist Party held half the seats in the House of Assembly (one more than Labor, and with one independent in Franklin), Nationalist leader John McPhee was made Premier of Tasmania, and he praised Lyons for his statesmanship.^[1]

Lyons, who had been considering a career in Federal politics, stood for the federal seat of Wilmot in 1929, and would go on to become Prime Minister of Australia in 1932.^[1]

See also

• Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1928–1931
• Candidates of the Tasmanian state election, 1928

References

1. P. R. Hart, C. J. Lloyd, Lyons, Joseph Aloysius (1879 - 1939), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, pp 184-189.

External links

• Assembly Election Results, 1928, Parliament of Tasmania.
• Report on General Election, 1928, Tasmanian Electoral Commission, 24 September 1928.