| Election Name: | 1982 Tasmanian state election |
| Country: | Tasmania |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1979 Tasmanian state election |
| Previous Year: | 1979 |
| Next Election: | 1986 Tasmanian state election |
| Next Year: | 1986 |
| Seats For Election: | All 35 seats to the House of Assembly |
| Election Date: | 15 May 1982 |
| Leader1: | Robin Gray |
| Leader Since1: | 11 November 1981 |
| Party1: | Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division) |
| Leaders Seat1: | Wilmot |
| Last Election1: | 15 seats |
| Seats1: | 19 |
| Seat Change1: | 4 |
| Percentage1: | 48.52% |
| Swing1: | 7.21 |
| Leader2: | Harry Holgate |
| Leader Since2: | 11 November 1981 |
| Party2: | Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) |
| Leaders Seat2: | Bass |
| Last Election2: | 20 seats |
| Seats2: | 14 |
| Seat Change2: | 6 |
| Percentage2: | 36.86% |
| Swing2: | 17.46 |
| Party3: | Australian Democrats |
| Colour3: | FECC2E |
| Leaders Seat3: | Denison |
| Last Election3: | 0 seats |
| Seats3: | 1 |
| Seat Change3: | 1 |
| Percentage3: | 5.39% |
| Swing3: | 2.52 |
| Map Size: | 350px |
| Premier | |
| Before Election: | Harry Holgate |
| Before Party: | Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) |
| After Election: | Robin Gray |
| After Party: | Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division) |
The 1982 Tasmanian state election was held on 15 May 1982 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, in power since 1972 and led by Premier Harry Holgate, was defeated in a landslide by the opposition Liberal Party, led by Robin Gray.
The proposed Franklin Dam was a major issue around the time of the election.
The Australian Democrats contested all electorates. Independent Green candidates contested the electorate of Denison only.
See also: Results of the Tasmanian state election, 1982.
The Liberal Party won a comfortable majority. Not only was this only the second time in 48 years that Labor had been out of office in Tasmania, but it was the first time in 51 years that the main non-Labor party in Tasmania had won an outright majority at an election. The Democrats' Norm Sanders retained his seat, which had originally been won at the Denison state by-election in 1980. Former Labor premier Doug Lowe also retained his seat as an independent.
The Independent Labor label refers to the separate campaigns by former Premier Doug Lowe and Labor MHA Mary Willey.
The Green vote referred to here is Bob Brown's campaign in the seat of Denison, where he attained 8.6% of the vote.
| Bass | Braddon | Denison | Franklin | Wilmot | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36.6% | 41.3% | 28.6% | 36.1% | 41.8% | ||
| 50.3% | 49.8% | 48.8% | 43.1% | 50.8% | ||
| 3.9% | 4.0% | 10.3% | 5.2% | 3.6% | ||
| Other | 9.2% | 4.9% | 12.3% | 15.7% | 3.8% |
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Democrat Norm Sanders resigned in late 1982 and independent Green Bob Brown was elected as his replacement after a recount of votes.