Tasmanian state election, 1979

← 1976

18 July 1979

1982 →

	First party	Second party

Leader	Doug Lowe	Max Bingham
Party	Labor	Liberal
Leader since	1 December 1977	4 May 1972
Leader's seat	Franklin	Denison
Last election	18 seats	17 seats
Seats won	20 seats	15 seats
Seat change	2	2
Percentage	54.32%	41.31%
Swing	1.84	3.18

Premier before election

Doug Lowe
Labor

Elected Premier

Doug Lowe
Labor

The Tasmanian state election, 1979 was held on 18 July 1979 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — seven members were elected from each of five electorates. The quota required for election was 12.5% in each division.

The incumbent Labor Party, led by Doug Lowe, won a third term in office against the opposition Liberal Party, led by Max Bingham.

Bill Neilson, leader of the Labor Party and Premier of Tasmania, had retired on 1 December 1977 and been replaced by Doug Lowe.

The United Tasmania Group, which had contested the two previous elections, did not field any candidates for the 1979 election. Instead a new party, the Australian Democrats, founded by Don Chipp in 1977, emerged as the most significant minor party.

The Labor Party won the election, increasing its majority in the House of Assembly from one seat to five.

Doug Lowe received the highest personal vote ever in the House of Assembly: 24,971 or 51.2% of the vote in the seat of Franklin.

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