Tasmanian state election, 1928

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

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).

1 Background
2 Results
3 Distribution of Seats
4 Aftermath
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

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]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c 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.

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