1972 Tasmanian state election

The 1969 election had resulted in a hung parliament, with the deadlock broken when Kevin Lyons of the Centre Party formed a coalition government with Angus Bethune's Liberal Party. On 15 March 1972, Lyons resigned as Deputy Premier and effectively dissolved the Liberal-Centre coalition.^[2] The resulting instability triggered an election.

The 1972 election was also notable due to the emergence and candidacy of the United Tasmania Group, the world's first Green party, formed to campaign against the proposed damming of Lake Pedder.^[3]

The Liberals lost three seats, giving Labor a clear majority. Eric Reece was sworn in as Premier of Tasmania for a second time on 3 May 1972. Eric Reece also received the highest personal vote ever in Braddon, gaining 14,790 votes, or 35.4% of the vote.

The United Tasmania Group gained a respectable 3.9% of the vote, failing to gain a seat in the parliament and to stop the damming of Lake Pedder, but their efforts paved the way for the Tasmanian Greens to become a significant force in Tasmanian politics.

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Labor	108,910	54.93	7.25	21	4
	Liberal	76,073	38.37	7.25	14	3
	United Tasmania Group	7,741	3.90	New	0	New
	Independents	5,546	2.80	0.49	0
Other					–	1
Total		198,270	100.00	–	35	–
Valid votes		198,270	96.34
Invalid/blank votes		7,533	3.66	1.00
Total votes		205,803	100.00	–
Registered voters/turnout		216,846	94.91	0.47

• Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1972–1976
• Candidates of the 1972 Tasmanian state election

• "House of Assembly Election Results 22 April 1972". Tasmanian Parliamentary Library.