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An election for the House of Assembly (lower house) was held in the Australian state of Tasmania on 18 March 2006, the same day as the South Australian elections. The Labor Party led by Premier Paul Lennon, won a third successive majority government term in office, despite predictions the election would result in a minority government. Although there was a small swing against Labor, they finished with 14 seats, and there were no changes in the party composition of the assembly. The Liberal Party led by Rene Hidding gained a small swing and finished with seven seats. The Tasmanian Greens led by Peg Putt suffered a small swing and finished with four seats; meaning no change in seat representation since the last election. Had the Greens lost one of their four seats, they would have lost their status as a major party and would lose financial resources, offices and support staff. Minor parties such as the Australian Democrats and the Family First Party did not contest the election. The Tasmania First Party, the Socialist Alliance and the Christian Democratic Party (who stood as grouped independents) polled poorly. A total of 95 candidates (65 men and 30 women) nominated for election: 27 from Labor, 25 from the Liberals and Greens, four from Tasmania First, two from Socialist Alliance and 12 independents. This was the first time Paul Lennon had run for election as Premier, after the resignation of Tasmanian Labor leader Jim Bacon in 2004 due to lung cancer. On the day the election results were finalised, the Liberals installed Will Hodgman as their new leader and Jeremy Rockliff as deputy leader. Mr Hodgman said the Liberals were disappointed with their result.〔(Hodgman takes charge of Liberals ), ''ABC News'', 30 March 2006〕 ==Campaign== The Liberals pledged that they would only accept government if they won a majority. Labor said they would be prepared to work with the Tasmanian Greens to form government if necessary, but ruled out a formal coalition and campaigned to be returned in majority. Commentators said that fear of a minority government was a factor in the government's strong showing, which appears to have resulted from a swing to Labor in the last week of the campaign. Lennon refused to participate in an ABC television debate if the Greens leader Putt was to be involved. Hidding was also not in favour of Putt's involvement but said he would participate if Lennon did. As a result, the ABC cancelled the debate, saying that Putt should not be excluded. The Federal Labor member for Franklin, Harry Quick, caused a stir for his endorsement of Greens candidate Nick McKim. In a Greens election pamphlet, Quick commended McKim on his "hard work over the last four years." Members of the secretive Christian group known as Exclusive Brethren were found to be behind newspaper advertisements and distributed flyers attacking Greens policies. A group identifying themselves as Tasmanians for a Better Future placed television and newspaper advertisements calling for a "stable majority government". Late in the campaign period, businessman Michael Kent revealed himself as one of the backers of the group. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tasmanian state election, 2006」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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