1928 Tasmanian state election

The 1928 Tasmanian state election was held on Wednesday, 30 May 1928 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 30 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system^[1] — six members were elected from each of five electorates.

1928 Tasmanian state election

← 1925 30 May 1928 1931 →
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
Results of the election
Premier before election Joseph Lyons Labor Resulting Premier John McPhee Nationalist

Labor had won the 1925 election in a landslide, with the Nationalist Party losing 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".^[2]

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 and had the support of one Independent, Nationalist leader McPhee became Premier of Tasmania, and praised Lyons for his statesmanship.^[2]

Lyons stood for the federal seat of Wilmot in 1929, and he became Prime Minister of Australia in 1932.^[2]

Results

See also: Results of the Tasmanian state election, 1928

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Labor	41,829	47.16	-1.32	14	2
	Nationalist[a]	37,432	42.20	+2.83	15	4
	Independents	7,461	8.41	-0.30	1	2
	Independent Labor	1,982	2.23	-1.22	0
Total		88,704	100.00	–	30	–
Valid votes		88,704	96.76
Invalid/blank votes		2,973	3.24	+1.02
Total votes		91,677	100.00	–
Registered voters/turnout		111,956	81.89	+14.63

Popular vote Labor   47.15% Nationalist   42.20% Independents   10.65%

Seats Nationalist   50.00% Labor   46.67% Independents   3.33%

^a 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 votes

Primary vote by division

	Bass	Darwin	Denison	Franklin	Wilmot
Labor Party	54.6%	46.7%	40.9%	43.5%	50.9%
Nationalist	45.4%	45.7%	40.4%	37.4%	42.0%
Other	–	7.5%	18.7%	19.1%	7.0%

Distribution of seats

Electorate Seats won Bass             Darwin             Denison             Franklin             Wilmot

Labor   Nationalist   Independent

See also

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