1913 Tasmanian state election

The 1913 Tasmanian state election was held on Thursday, 23 January 1913 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 30 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system[1] — six members were elected from each of five electorates.

1913 Tasmanian state election

23 January 1913
All 30 seats to the House of Assembly
First party Second party   Leader Albert Solomon John Earle Party Liberal Labor Leader since 14 June 1912 1906 Leader's seat Bass Franklin Last election 16 seats 14 seats Seats won 16 seats 14 seats Seat change 0 0 Percentage 52.58% 46.00% Swing 1.90 0.48
Premier before election Albert Solomon Liberal Elected Premier Albert Solomon Liberal

The 1913 election was called less than a year after the 1912 election. Following the 1912 election, the Liberal League held only a small majority in the House of Assembly, and Premier Albert Solomon was dependent on the support of Norman Cameron. In addition, Solomon was under threat from the same CLP unrest that had unseated his predecessor, Elliott Lewis. Labor sought to capitalise on Solomon's tenuous grasp on government, and moved a series of no-confidence motions against him, including a censure motion over the Mount Lyell disaster.

In an attempt to secure his position, Solomon requested and received from the Governor of Tasmania an early dissolution of the House of Assembly, and an early election.[2] The result was the same as had been in the outgoing House of Assembly, except that Cameron lost his seat to another Liberal.

Solomon's advantage, however, was short-lived. The Liberals lost a seat in a by-election, and Joshua Whitsitt's behaviour was becoming erratic. Solomon lost a no-confidence motion in April 1914, and the Governor denied his request for another dissolution, calling upon John Earle to form a Labor government.[2]