Tasmanian election - March 20, 2010

The election in Tasmania will be held on Saturday March 20 - it is only for Members of the House of Assembly.

The House of Assembly is the lower house of the Tasmanian Parliament - there are five House of Assembly divisions: Bass, Braddon, Denison, Franklin and Lyons.

Following the passage of legislation in April 2009, these divisions have the same boundaries as the five Commonwealth House of Representatives divisions for Tasmania. There are 25 members of the House of Assembly, with five members elected for each of the divisions using the Hare-Clark voting system of multi-member proportional representation. Members are elected for a term of up to 4 years.

The Australian Labor Party, led by Premier David Bartlett, is currently in government with 14 Members in the House of Assembly. The Liberal Party is in Opposition, and is led by Will Hodgman - the Liberals have 7 Members. The Greens, led by Nick McKim, have four Members.

Information on the election: Tasmanian Electoral Commission website Note: Elections for the Legislative Council will not be held at the same time. The Legislative Council has 15 Members, each representing one electoral division. Elections are conducted on a 6 year periodic cycle. Elections for 3 members are held in May one year, with elections for 2 members held in May the following year and so on.

Christian Values Checklist

The Australian Christian Values Institute (of which we are a part) has prepared a Christian Values Checklist for the Tasmanian election. There are 21 questions about key moral and ethical questions - political parties are rated according to their policies, voting record and other factors.

This is a vital aid in helping Christians know what the political parties are about - if you live in Tasmania, please print it out, copy and distribute it at your churches and to your friends (and anyone else!)
If you don't live in Tasmania please send this email to Christian friends in Tasmania!

There are two versions of the Christian Values Checklist - a full colour version which looks effective on the internet - plus a black and white one for photocopying.

Tasmanian election March 2010 - Christian Values Checklist - lo-res colour
Tasmanian election March 2010 - Christian Values Checklist - Black & White

They are also posted on the ACVI website - click here. A high-resolution colour version is also posted there.

Contacting your OWN candidates

Naturally, it's also important for you to contact the candidates standing in your electorate and ask them some questions as well! For a list of all candidates by electorate - click here. 

If you don't know your electorate...

click here for a page on the AEC website that enables you to "check your enrolment"  - type in your name and address and click "Verify Enrolment". This will give all your federal, state and local electorates!

Information about the election - candidates and so on...

The Tasmanian Electoral Commission website has all the details about the election - click here.
Their webpage for the 2010 House of Assembly election includes information on electoral divisions, a full list of candidates running in each division and information about the election. Click here.

The ABC has a website that lists a range of information about the election, including lists of candidates and analysis by election commentator Antony Green.  

Emily's List Candidates

The Life Network, a national pro-life organisation, has posted on its website a list of all the candidates in the Tasmanian elections who are members of Emily's List.

According to the Emily's List website, their aim is "getting more progressive Labor women elected to Parliament." The group provides funding to such women - but these must be 'pro-choice', in other words in favour of abortion, in order to 'qualify'.

If you're voting in the Tasmanian election, you need to know which candidates are members of Emily's List and what this means.

Life Network says "This group is having a huge impact on the promotion and progression of abortion in Australia today. We need to act to ensure this is stopped. If you are in Tasmania or S.A., please do not vote for the women listed below and please ask your friends not to..."

EMILY's list Tasmanian candidates:
Michelle Cripps - Bass
Kay Eastley - Braddon
Madeleine Ogilvie - Denison
Judy Richmond - Braddon
Rebecca White - Lyons
Heather Butler - Member for Lyons
Lara Giddings - Member for Franklin (see here)
Michelle O'Byrne - Member for Bass
Lisa Singh - Member for Denison