- Australian Capital Territory general election, 1989
The first election for the
Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on4 March 1989 . No party won a majority in the assembly. Labor'sRosemary Follett was chosen as the ACT's first Chief Minister.The election used a modified
D'Hondt method to allocate seats.The election was notable for having a ballot paper almost one-metre wide that listed 117 candidates for the 17 seats. The parties include the “
Sun Ripened Warm Tomato Party ”, “Party! Party! Party! ” and “Surprise Party ”. It took almost two months after Election Day to determine the results of the election. Four people won seats on ostensible platforms of abolishing self government.The polls were declared on
8 May 1989 . The Assembly first sat on11 May 1989 , in rented premises at 1 Constitution Avenue, Canberra City. The final sitting was on17 December 1991 .The membership of the first assembly was one member from the
Abolish Self-Government Coalition ; five members from theAustralian Labor Party ; four members from the Liberal Party; three members from theNo Self Government Party and four members from theResidents Rally . Paul Whalan (ALP) resigned on30 April 1990 and Terry Connolly (ALP) was sworn in on1 May 1990 to replace him.One Member of the No Self Government Party later joined the Liberal Party and the other Members did not use the party name for the full duration of the first Assembly. One member of the Residents Rally later became an independent.
The office holders of the first assembly were:
*Speaker: David Prowse
*Chief Minister:Rosemary Follett (ALP)
*Leader of the Opposition:Trevor Kaine (Lib)Following a change of government on
5 December 1989 :Chief Minister: Trevor Kaine (Lib)Leader of the Opposition: Rosemary Follett (ALP)
Following a further change of government on
6 June 1991 :Chief Minister: Rosemary Follett (ALP)Leader of the Opposition: Trevor Kaine (Lib)
Trevor Kaine resigned as Leader of the Opposition on
21 June 1991 and in a ballot for the positionCraig Duby was elected. Following amendment to standing orders,Gary Humphries then became Leader of the Opposition from21 June to22 July 1991 , after which Trevor Kaine resumed the position.ee also
*
Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988
*Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories#Australian Capital Territory
*Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, 1989-1991 External links
* [http://www.elections.act.gov.au/ ACT Electoral Commission]
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