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All 35 seats to the House of Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results of the election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1992 Tasmanian state election was held on 1 February 1992 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 quota required for election was 12.5% in each division.
The incumbent Labor Party minority government, headed by Michael Field hoped to secure a majority and second term. The Labor Party was headed by Michael Field. The Green independents were led by Bob Brown. The Liberal Party was led by Ray Groom.
Prior to the election the Labor Party was in minority government, supported by five Green independents in a loose alliance referred to as the Labor-Green Accord. The Labor Party held 13 seats and the Greens 5 out of 35 a combined majority of 18. The Liberal Party held 17 of the 35 seats.
The Labor minority government had spent much of their term focusing on economic reform. The priority of the Field government was reducing state debt, which had the support of the Greens. Government cuts in spending, were able to help Tasmania reach its debt servicing commitments, but were a source of discontent in the community. The minority government succeeded until late 1991 when lobbying from the forestry industry caused Field to introduce legislation to protect the industry from conservation. The legislation had the support of the Liberal Party and passed both houses easily. However, the Greens withdrew their support of the government, prompting Labor to an election for February 1992.
The Liberal Party needed to win only one seat at this election to be returned into majority, and needed a primary vote swing of about 4.5 percent to gain that seat. Labor needed five seats to win an outright majority.
Minor parties contesting this election included Advance Tasmania; which ran candidates in each electorate. A political party called "More Jobs" fielded candidates in Denison.