1976 Tasmanian state election

* * *

| <- 1972 | 11 December 1976 | 1979 ->

|
|

* * *

All 35 seats to the House of Assembly
|  | First party  | Second party

|
|

|  |
Leader  | Bill Neilson | Max Bingham
Party  | Labor | Liberal
Leader since  | 31 March 1975  | 4 May 1972
Leader's seat  | Franklin | Denison
Last election  | 21 seats  | 14 seats
Seats won  | 18 | 17
Seat change  |  3  |  3
Popular vote  | 123,386 | 104,613
Percentage  | 52.48% | 44.49%
Swing  |  2.45  |  6.12

* * *

Results of the election

* * *

| Premier before election

Bill Neilson
Labor

| Elected Premier

Bill Neilson
Labor

|

The 1976 Tasmanian state election was held on 11 December 1976 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[1] — seven members were elected from each of five electorates.

The incumbent Labor Party, led by Bill Neilson, won a second term against the opposition Liberal Party, led by Max Bingham.

## Background

[edit]

Labor had won the 1972 election, by a landslide margin of 7 seats, with Labor leader Eric Reece elected as Premier of Tasmania for the second time. Reece retired from Parliament on 31 March 1975, after the ALP introduced a mandatory retirement age of 65. Liberal Party leader Angus Bethune retired three months later, and was replaced by Max Bingham.

## Results

[edit]

See also: Results of the Tasmanian state election, 1976

Labor won the election, although their majority was reduced to one seat.

Party| Votes| %| +/–| Seats| +/–
| Labor| 123,386| 52.45|  2.45| 18|  3
| Liberal| 104,613| 44.47|  6.12| 17|  3
| United Tasmania Group| 5,183| 2.20|  1.70| 0|
| Independents| 1,424| 0.61|  2.19| 0|
| Workers' Party| 524| 0.22| New| 0| New
| Socialist Workers' Party| 123| 0.05| New| 0| New
Total| 235,253| 100.00| –| 35| –
Valid votes| 235,253| 96.20| |
Invalid/blank votes| 9,294| 3.80|  0.14|
Total votes| 244,547| 100.00| –|
Registered voters/turnout| 258,550| 94.58|  0.37|

| Popular vote

|  |
Labor |

| 52.48%
Liberal |

| 44.49%
United Tasmania Group |

| 2.20%
Workers Party |

| 0.22%
Independents |

| 0.61%

| Seats

|  |
Labor |

| 51.43%
Liberal |

| 48.57%

## Distribution of votes

[edit]

### Primary vote by division

[edit]

| Bass  | Braddon  | Denison  | Franklin  | Wilmot

|
|
|
|
|

Labor Party | 48.7% | 53.9% | 46.8% | 59.4% | 53.1%
Liberal Party | 49.2% | 45.9% | 46.8% | 35.9% | 45.0%
Other | 2.1% | 0.3% | 6.5% | 4.7% | 1.9%

### Distribution of seats

[edit]

| Electorate  | Seats won

|

Bass |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Braddon |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Denison |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Franklin |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Wilmot |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  | Labor

|

| Liberal

## See also

[edit]

* Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1976–1979
* Candidates of the 1976 Tasmanian state election

## References

[edit]

1. ^ House of Assembly Elections, Parliament of Tasmania.

* "House of Assembly Election Results 11 December 1976". Tasmanian Parliamentary Library.

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