imported>Fonctionnaire23: Removed 'was' to keep sentence grammatical

2023-04-01T22:47:05Z

Removed 'was' to keep sentence grammatical

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{{Short description|Former Tasmanian political party}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
The '''Centre Party''', previously the '''Country Party''', was a minor [[Australia]]n [[political party]] in the state of [[Tasmania]]. Initially formed in 1962 as a new Tasmanian branch of the [[National Party of Australia|Country Party of Australia]] after decades of inactivity in the state, it at first enjoyed no electoral success.<ref name="davey432">{{cite book |last=Davey |first=Paul |date=2010 |title=Ninety Not Out: The Nationals 1920-2010 |publisher=UNSW Press |page=432 |isbn=978-1742231662 }}</ref> In the run up to the [[1969 Tasmanian state election|1969 election]] the party was joined by [[Kevin Lyons]], a former [[Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division)|Liberal]] turned independent member of the Assembly for [[Division of Braddon (state)|Braddon]], who renamed it the '''Centre Party''' and retained his seat at the election, securing the balance of power and serving as [[Deputy Premier of Tasmania|Deputy Premier]] in a [[Coalition (Australia)|coalition]] government until 1972.<ref name="K Lyons Tas parl">{{cite Tas Parliament |id=lyonsk500 |title=Kevin Lyons |access-date=24 July 2022}}</ref> Upon the coalition's collapse the Centre Party faded away before being dissolved in 1975.

The party first contested the [[1964 Tasmanian state election|1964 state election]], winning 9,280 votes (5.26%) but no seats. Kevin Lyons, the son of the late [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[Joseph Lyons]], was originally a member of the [[Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division)|Liberal Party]]. In 1966, a dispute arose over preselection and Lyons resigned from the Liberals on 7 September.<ref name="K Lyons Tas parl"/> Lyons remained in the House of Assembly as an [[Independent (politician)|independent]], until the 1969 election when he joined the party and renamed it as the Centre Party.<ref>Petrow, Stefan: [http://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/C/Country%20Party.htm Country Party], ''The Companion to Tasmanian History'' ([[University of Tasmania]]).</ref> Although the party's vote slipped to 8,160 (4.31%), Lyons was re-elected to the House of Assembly as the party's only MHA, after substantial numbers of preferences were transferred to him from Liberal voters in the electorate of [[Division of Braddon (state)|Braddon]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Grofman |first=Bernard |author2=Arend Lijphart |title=Electoral Laws and Their Political Consequences |year=1986 |publisher= Algora Publishing |location=New York |isbn=0-87586-074-5 }}</ref> Labor and the Liberals both won 17 seats in the House, resulting in a [[hung parliament]], with the Centre Party's one seat giving Lyons the balance of power. In negotiations with Liberal leader [[Angus Bethune (politician)|Angus Bethune]], Lyons agreed to form a coalition with the Liberals, and became Bethune's Deputy Premier. The Liberal-Centre coalition lasted until 1972, with Lyons resigning as Deputy Premier after a dispute with Bethune, effectively dissolving the party and the coalition. The resulting instability triggered the [[1972 Tasmanian state election|1972 election]], which the Centre Party did not contest.<ref>{{cite web|author=Parliament of Tasmania |url=http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/tpl/Elections/e1972.htm |title=Assembly Elections results, 1972 |publisher=Parliament.tas.gov.au |access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref>

The party's last contests came in the federal elections of [[1974 Australian federal election|1974]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Carr |first=Adam |url=http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/1974/1974senatetas.txt |title=1974 Senate: Voting by State, Tasmania |work=Psephos Election Archive |access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref> and [[1974 Australian federal election|1975]] (by now as the National Country Party)<ref>{{cite web|last=Carr |first=Adam |url=http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/1975/1975repstas.txt |title=1975 House of Representatives: Voting by Constituency, Tasmania |work=Psephos Election Archive |access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Carr |first=Adam |url=http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/1975/1975senatetas.txt |title=1975 Senate: Voting by State, Tasmania |work=Psephos Election Archive |access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref> but had no success. The party disappeared that year.<ref name="davey432"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Defunct Australian political parties}}

[[Category:Defunct political parties in Tasmania]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1962]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1975]]
[[Category:Defunct agrarian political parties]]
[[Category:National Party of Australia]]
[[Category:Agrarian parties in Australia]]

Centre Party (Tasmania) - Revision history

imported>Fonctionnaire23: Removed 'was' to keep sentence grammatical