Tasmanian House of Assembly

House of Assembly
House of Assembly
51st Parliament
Type
Type	Lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania
History
Founded	2 December 1856; 167 years ago
Leadership
Speaker	Michelle O'Byrne, Labor ; since 14 May 2024
Chairman of Committees	Jacquie Petrusma, Liberal ; since 14 May 2024
Leader of the House	Eric Abetz, Liberal ; since 10 April 2024
Government Whip	Simon Wood, Liberal ; since 10 April 2024
Leader of Opposition Business	Shane Broad, Labor ; since 16 April 2024
Opposition Whip	Meg Brown, Labor ; since 16 April 2024
Leader of Greens Business	Vica Bayley, Greens ; since 23 April 2024
Greens Whip	Vica Bayley, Greens ; since 23 April 2023
Structure
Seats	35
Political groups	Government (14) Liberal (14); Opposition (10) Labor (10); Crossbench (11) Greens (5); Independent (5); Lambie Network (1);
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	Proportional representation via Hare-Clark system (STV)
Last election	23 March 2024
Meeting place
	House of Assembly Chamber,; Parliament House, Hobart,; Tasmania, Australia
Website
	Tas House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart.

The Assembly has 35 members, elected for a term of up to four years,^[b] with seven members being elected in each of five electorates, called divisions. Each division has approximately the same number of electors, and shares its name with one of Tasmania's federal electoral divisions. Voting for the House of Assembly is by a form of proportional representation using the single transferable vote (STV), known as the Hare-Clark electoral system. By having multiple members for each division, the voting intentions of the electors are more closely represented in the House of Assembly. This system makes it all but certain that the division's minority party wins at least one seat. Additionally, it is easier for minor parties to enter the legislature than in the rest of Australia, allowing them to possibly exert influence through the balance of power (the need for a working majority in the assembly).

At the 2024 state election, the size of the House increased from 25 to 35 members, with seven members elected from the five divisions.^[2]^[3]

Since 2024, as well as previously from 1959–1998, the quota for election in each division, after distribution of preferences, has been 12.5% (one-eighth). Under the preferential proportional voting system in place, the lowest-polling candidates are eliminated, and their votes distributed as preferences to the remaining candidates. If a candidate achieves a quota, they are declared elected and any surplus votes (those over and above quota) are redistributed according to the next back-up preference marked by the voter.

Most legislation is initiated in the House of Assembly. The party or coalition with a majority of seats in the House of Assembly is invited by the Governor of Tasmania to form Government. The leader of that party becomes the Premier of Tasmania, and their senior colleagues become ministers responsible for various portfolios. As Australian politicians traditionally vote along party lines, most legislation introduced by the governing party will be passed by the House of Assembly.

Unlike other Australian state legislatures, the House of Assembly is elected from multimember districts while the Legislative Council is elected from single-member districts. The reverse is the case in most of the rest of Australia; that is, the lower house is elected from single-member districts while the upper house is elected from multi-member districts or at large.

Tasmania has therefore been described as having an upside down system to the rest of Australia.^[4]

History

Year	Members
1856	30
1870	32
1885	36
1893	37
1900	35
1906	30
1959	35
1998	25
2024	35

The House of Assembly was first established in 1856, under legislation passed by the British Parliament creating the independent self-governing Colony of Tasmania. The Legislative Council had already existed since 1852. The first elections for the House of Assembly were held in October 1856. The House first met on 2 December 1856 in the area that is now the parliamentary members lounge. The first House had members elected to represent 24 electorates. Hobart had five members, Launceston had three members, and the 22 other electorates each had one member.

In 1870 the multi-member districts were divided and all 32 members were elected in single-member districts.^[5]

In 1885 eight two-member districts were instituted. Three were in Hobart, two in Launceston, and there were three others. The remaining 20 members were elected in single-member districts. This number grew by one in 1893 when a seat was added for the West Coast.^[6]

In 1897 Tasmania was among the first jurisdictions in the world to use the Hare-Clark proportional representation system to elect some of its members. Hobart elected six members and Launceston four members, in city-wide districts. Voters cast only one vote each, but marked back-up preferences. STV was used again in 1900 in those two cities. By then a second member had been added to the West Coast, bringing total number of members up to 38.^[7]

In 1903 first past the post was used to elect each of the members.

In 1906 the state was divided into five equally represented multi-member electorates corresponding to the state's five federal electorates. Each electorate returned six members using STV.

In 1959 the number of members per electorate was increased to seven. In 1998 it was reduced to five, resulting in a 25-member parliament. The reduction was criticised by the Greens as an attempt to reduce their influence. In 2010, an attempt to increase the number of seats in the House back to 35 for the 2014 state election was made by the leaders of the three main parties — Labor, the Liberals and the Greens, who signed an agreement on 2 September of that year to submit the proposal for public consideration before taking a set of resolutions to their respective party rooms.^[8] The proposal, however, was dropped in February 2011 when the Liberal Party withdrew its support for the plan, citing budget circumstances.^[9]

In 2022 legislation was passed to return the House of Assembly to seven-seat districts with the passage of the Expansion of House of Assembly Act 2022, returning the House to 35 seats from the 2024 election onwards. The Legislative Council was not affected and retains 15 seats despite having also been reduced from 19 seats in 1998 at the same time as the House of Assembly.

Unlike most state parliaments in Australia, by-elections are very rare in the House of Assembly. Since 1917, casual vacancies have usually been filled by a simple recount of votes.^[10] One of the few by-elections (in legal terms a fresh or 're-election') in recent memory occurred in 1980, when the Supreme Court ordered a new election in Denison because three Labor members had exceeded spending limits.^[11]

Electorates

With seven members each, the five electoral divisions of the Tasmanian House of Assembly are:

The electorates of the Tasmanian House of Assembly have the same boundaries and names as the electorates for the federal House of Representatives.^[12]

Members

Current distribution of seats

The distribution of seats is currently:

Party	Seats held	Percentage
Liberal	14	40.0%
Labor	10	28.6%
Greens	5	14.3%
Independent	5	14.3%
Lambie	1	2.9%

Electorate	Seats won
Bass
Braddon
Clark
Franklin
Lyons

	Liberal
	Labor
	Greens
	Independent
	Lambie

Notes

^ Four out of five independents have signed a confidence and supply agreement with the Government. Those MHAs are: David O'Byrne, Kristie Johnston, Miriam Beswick, and Rebekah Pentland. The fifth MHA is Craig Garland.
^ Since 1976; prior to 1976, the maximum term of the Assembly was five years.^[1]

References

^ Constitution Act 1972 (Tas) s.79
^ "Expansion of House of Assembly Act 2022". legislation.tas.gov.au.
^ Matt Maloney (17 November 2022). "Tasmania's House of Assembly to have 35 members in 2025 - if not sooner". The Examiner.
^ https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/58819/ha20select20on20ha20restoration20legislation202220july202019_.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33326755.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33326755.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33326755.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ Tassie set to get extra politicians, news.com.au, 2 September 2010.
^ Caruana, Patrick: Deal to increase Tas parliament scuttled, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February 2011.
^ House of Assembly Elections, Tasmanian Parliamentary Library
^ Report on Parliamentary Elections 1978 to 1980 Archived 30 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Parliament of Tasmania, 1980.
^ "House of Assembly Elections Tasmania".

External links

[1] Four out of five independents have signed a confidence and supply agreement with the Government. Those MHAs are: David O'Byrne, Kristie Johnston, Miriam Beswick, and Rebekah Pentland. The fifth MHA is Craig Garland.

[3] Since 1976; prior to 1976, the maximum term of the Assembly was five years.^[1]

[2] Constitution Act 1972 (Tas) s.79

[4] "Expansion of House of Assembly Act 2022". legislation.tas.gov.au.

[5] Matt Maloney (17 November 2022). "Tasmania's House of Assembly to have 35 members in 2025 - if not sooner". The Examiner.

[6] ttps://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/58819/ha20select20on20ha20restoration20legislation202220july202019_.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[7] ttps://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33326755.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[8] ttps://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33326755.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[9] ttps://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33326755.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[10] Tassie set to get extra politicians, news.com.au, 2 September 2010.

[11] Caruana, Patrick: Deal to increase Tas parliament scuttled, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February 2011.

[12] House of Assembly Elections, Tasmanian Parliamentary Library

[13] Report on Parliamentary Elections 1978 to 1980 Archived 30 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Parliament of Tasmania, 1980.

[14] "House of Assembly Elections Tasmania".

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v t e Members of the Parliament of Tasmania
House of Assembly	1856–1861 1861–1862 1862–1866 1866–1871 1871–1872 1872–1877 1877–1882 1882–1886 1886–1891 1891–1893 1893–1897 1897–1900 1900–1903 1903–1906 1906–1909 1909–1912 1912–1913 1913–1916 1916–1919 1919–1922 1922–1925 1925–1928 1928–1931 1931–1934 1934–1937 1937–1941 1941–1946 1946–1948 1948–1950 1950–1955 1955–1956 1956–1959 1959–1964 1964–1969 1969–1972 1972–1976 1976–1979 1979–1982 1982–1986 1986–1989 1989–1992 1992–1996 1996–1998 1998–2002 2002–2006 2006–2010 2010–2014 2014–2018 2018–2021 2021–2024 2024–2028
Legislative Council	1879–1885 1885–1891 1891–1897 1897–1903 1903–1909 1909–1915 1915–1921 1921–1927 1927–1933 1933–1939 1939–1945 1945–1951 1951–1957 1957–1963 1963–1969 1969–1975 1975–1981 1981–1987 1987–1993 1993–1999 1999–2005 2002–2006 2005–2011 2006–2010 2010–2014 2011–2017 2017–2023 2023–2029

v t e Government of Tasmania
Executive	Monarchy Governor Premier Deputy Premier Cabinet Police
Legislative	Parliament House of Assembly Legislative Council Electoral divisions MHAs MLCs President of the Legislative Council Speaker of the House of Assembly Opposition Leader
Judicial	Supreme Court Magistrates Court Coroners Court

v t e Elections and referendums in Tasmania
General elections	1856 1861 1862 1866 1871 1872 1877 1882 1886 1891 1893 1897 1900 1903 1906 1909 1912 1913 1916 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1941 1946 1948 1950 1955 1956 1959 1964 1969 1972 1976 1979 1982 1986 1989 1992 1996 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2021 2024 Next
Legislative Council elections	1909 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Local elections	1994 1996 1999 2000 2002 2005 2007 2009 2011 2014 2018 2022 2026
Referendums	1898 1899 1916 1968 1981