The recent Tasmanian State Election returned a Liberal Party majority of just one seat, despite the gambling lobby’s best and extremely expensive efforts to wipe Parliament clean of any dissenting or anti-pokies voices. But there’s been one pleasantly surprising outcome of the beautiful Island State voting: A majority of women.
For the first time in Australian history, a state parliament will feature more women as elected representatives than men.
Tassie’s new-look House of Assembly – the State’s lower house – will consist of 13 women and 12 men, a result confirmed after counting was finalised following the March 3rd election.
The ACT returned a majority of women representatives following its 2016 election, but this year’s Tasmanian result is the first time a state has seen such a result.
The 13 women elected in this year’s vote is a significant step up from the 9 elected the last time Tasmanians went to the polls in 2014.
More to that, the turnover in representation has been significant, with six fresh faces among the 13 women elected to State Parliament.
Of those elected, both of the Greens two elected representatives are women, as are a large majority of Labor‘s elected officials – seven out of ten, to be exact. Unsurprisingly the Liberal party lags well behind on representation, with just four out of their thirteen total seats won by women.
Tassie’s new class of female representatives consists of the following.
In Bass, covering Launceston and North-Eastern Tasmania:
- Sarah Courtney (Liberal, incumbent)
- Michelle O’Byrne (Labor, incumbent)
- Jennifer Houston (Labor, new)
In Braddon, covering North-West and Western Tasmania:
- Anita Dow (Labor, new)
In Denison, covering metropolitan Hobart and Hobart’s western shore:
- Elise Archer (Liberal, incumbent)
- Sue Hickey (Liberal, new)
- Ella Haddad (Labor, new)
- Cassy O’Connor (Greens, incumbent)
In Franklin, covering Hobart’s eastern shore and southern Tasmania:
- Jacquie Petrusma (Liberal, incumbent)
- Alison Standen (Labor, new)
- Rosalie Woodruff (Greens, incumbent)
And in Lyons, covering central Tasmania:
- Rebecca White (Labor, incumbent)
- Jen Butler (Labor, new)
It’s a huge result not only for Tasmania – the best and purest state in the country – but for politics as a whole in Australia.
Hell yeah, Tassie!
