Parliament of Tasmania | |
|---|---|
| 52nd Parliament | |
 | |
 Tasmanian Parliament logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses | Legislative Council House of Assembly |
| Sovereign | Governor of Tasmania[a] |
| History | |
| Founded | 2 December 1856; 168 years ago (2 December 1856) |
| Leadership | |
Barbara Baker since 16 June 2021 | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 50 MPs 35 MHAs 15 MLCs |
 | |
House of Assembly political groups | Government (14)
Opposition (10)
Crossbench (11)
|
 | |
Legislative Council political groups | Government (4)
Opposition (3) Crossbench (8)
|
| Elections | |
| Proportional representation viaHare-Clark system (STV) | |
| Partial Preferential (IRV) | |
LastHouse of Assembly election | 19 July 2025 |
LastLegislative Council election | 24 May 2025 (periodic) |
NextHouse of Assembly election | By 2029 |
NextLegislative Council election | 2 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Parliament House,Hobart, Tasmania,Australia | |
| Website | |
| parliament.tas.gov.au | |
TheParliament of Tasmania is thebicamerallegislature of theAustralian state ofTasmania. It follows aWestminster-derivedparliamentary system and consists of thegovernor of Tasmania (the representative ofthe King), theLegislative Council (the upper house), and theHouse of Assembly (the lower house).[1] Since 1841, the Legislative Council has met inParliament House, Hobart, with the House of Assembly following suit from its establishment in 1856. The Parliament of Tasmania first met in 1856.
The powers of the Parliament are prescribed in theConstitution of Tasmania. Since theFederation of Australia in 1901, Tasmania has been a state of theCommonwealth of Australia, and theConstitution of Australia regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth. Under the Australian Constitution, Tasmania ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas.
The leader of the party or coalition with theconfidence of the House of Assembly is invited by the governor to form theGovernment and become thepremier of Tasmania.
Throughout its history, the Tasmanian Parliament frequently had members who previously served in Federal Parliament proportionally more so than the other state and territory parliaments.
The Government currently consists of aLiberalminority government, formed after the 2025 state election. TheThird Rockliff ministry consists of Liberal members.
The island ofVan Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania) was claimed and subsequently settled by theUnited Kingdom in 1803. Initially, it was administered by thegovernor of New South Wales, as part of that BritishColony of New South Wales. In 1825, Van Diemen's Land became a separateBritish colony, administered separately fromNew South Wales, with a Legislative Council of six men appointed to advise thelieutenant governor of Van Diemen's Land who had sole governance of the colony. The Council initially held meetings in a room adjacent to the oldGovernment House that was located near to the present site ofFranklin Square, but by 1841 they relocated meetings to the 'Long Room' (now the Members' Lounge) in the Customs House.[4]
In 1850, theBritish Parliament enacted theAustralian Colonies Government Act, which gave Van Diemen's Land the right to elect its firstrepresentative government. The size of the Legislative Council was increased from six to 24. Eight members were appointed by the Governor, and 16 were elected by property owners. The new Legislative Council met for the first time in 1852, and by 1854 they had passed theTasmanian Constitution Act, giving Van Diemen's Land responsible self-government and a newbicameralparliament.Queen Victoria grantedRoyal assent in 1855 and Van Diemen's Land became a self-governing colony. In the following year, 1856, one of the new parliament's first acts was to change the name of the colony from Van Diemen's Land toTasmania.
The Tasmanian House of Assembly is the lower house of the Tasmanian Parliament. There are 35 members, with seven members elected from the five divisions.[5][6] The divisions are:Bass,Braddon,Clark,Franklin, andLyons. The Tasmanian House of Assembly electoral divisions share the same names and boundaries as theAustralian House of Representatives divisions for Tasmania.
Members are elected using theHare-Clark voting system of multi-member proportional representation for a term of up to 4 years.[e]
Thedistribution of seats is currently:
| Party | Seats held | Percentage | Seat distribution | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | 14 | 40.0% | |||||||||||||||
| Labor | 10 | 28.6% | |||||||||||||||
| Greens | 5 | 14.3% | |||||||||||||||
| Independent | 5 | 14.3% | |||||||||||||||
| Shooters, Fishers and Farmers | 1 | 2.9% | |||||||||||||||
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The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Tasmanian Parliament. It has 15 members, each elected from a single-memberelectoral division. The boundaries of the divisions are reviewed by tribunal every 9 years.[8]
Elections are conducted annually on a 6-year periodic cycle; 3 divisions will be up for election in May one year, then 2 divisions in May the following year and so on. As such, each member will normally serve a term of 6 years.
The current distribution of seats (updated post2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election is:
| Party | Seats held | Percentage | Seat distribution | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independents | 7 | 46.7% | |||||||||||||||
| Liberal Party | 4 | 26.7% | |||||||||||||||
| Labor Party | 3 | 20.0% | |||||||||||||||
| Greens | 1 | 6.7% | |||||||||||||||
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Members of the Tasmanian upper and lower houses with over 30 years of service.
| Name | Party | Chamber | Start of tenure | End of tenure | Period of service | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Polley | Labor | House of Assembly | 22 April 1972 | 15 March 2014 | 41 years, 327 days | |
| Sir John Evans | Commonwealth Liberal | House of Assembly | 20 January 1897 | 20 February 1937 | 40 years, 31 days | |
| William Dodery | Independent | House of Assembly | 4 June 1861 | 30 June 1870 | 39 years, 94 days | |
| Legislative Council | 7 March 1877 | 7 May 1907 | ||||
| Neil Campbell | Liberal League | House of Assembly | 10 June 1922 | 19 February 1955 | 37 years, 236 days | |
| Legislative Council | 14 May 1955 | 25 April 1960 | ||||
| Sir Walter Lee | Liberal League | House of Assembly | 30 April 1909 | 23 November 1946 | 37 years, 207 days | |
| William Moore | Independent | House of Assembly | 14 September 1871 | 1 August 1877 | 37 years, 198 days | |
| Legislative Council | 13 September 1877 | 4 May 1909 | ||||
| Dr Edward Crowther | Free Trade | House of Assembly | 26 November 1878 | 30 April 1912 | 33 years, 156 days | |
| Sir Robert Cosgrove | Labor | House of Assembly | 31 May 1919 | 10 June 1922 | 33 years, 70 days | |
| 30 June 1925 | 9 May 1931 | |||||
| 9 June 1934 | 25 August 1958 | |||||
| Frederick Grubb | Independent | Legislative Council | 6 March 1879 | 1 November 1880 | 31 years, 325 days | |
| 12 February 1881 | 1 May 1911 | |||||
| John Madden | Labor | House of Assembly | 20 June 1936 | 13 October 1956 | 31 years, 255 days | |
| 23 December 1957 | 10 May 1969 | |||||
| Bill Neilson | Labor | House of Assembly | 23 November 1946 | 1 December 1977 | 31 years, 8 days | |
| John DwyerVC | Labor | House of Assembly | 9 May 1931 | 17 January 1962 | 30 years, 253 days | |
| Sir Alexander Lillico | Independent | Legislative Council | 6 May 1924 | 8 May 1954 | 30 years, 2 days | |
Parliaments of Australia – Federal, states and territories | |
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42°53′07″S147°19′49″E / 42.88528°S 147.33028°E /-42.88528; 147.33028
