 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Location of proposed dam to be built on Gordon River. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Tasmanian power referendum was a one-question referendum held on 12 December 1981, and intended to determine the location of a proposed hydroelectricity dam to be built on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia.
In 1978, the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) proposed the construction of a hydroelectricity dam on the Gordon River. The location of the proposed dam was below the Gordon's junction with the Franklin River, and the flooding caused by damming the river would have destroyed the environmentally sensitive Franklin River valley area. Responding to community concern over the proposal, Premier Doug Lowe ordered a moratorium on dam construction and an environmental impact study. [1]
With the community polarised over the proposed dam's environmental impact and Tasmania's economic and employment needs, Lowe proposed a compromise: to construct the dam at a different point on the Gordon, above the junction with the Olga River (Gordon-above-Olga). Lowe was successful in getting the Gordon-above-Olga plan through the Tasmanian House of Assembly, however the more conservative upper house, the Tasmanian Legislative Council, voted to block the legislation and insisted on the HEC's original Gordon-below-Franklin plan. [1]
With a parliamentary deadlock over the issue, Lowe was left with no option but to call for a referendum. When announcing the referendum to the media, he was questioned as to whether it would include a 'No Dams' option and he indicated it would. The President of the Labor Party in Tasmania wrote to all Labor MHAs instructing them to withdraw that option, and Lowe was forced into an embarrassing backdown. [1]
About a month before the referendum was held, Doug Lowe lost a no-confidence motion, and stood down as Premier. He was replaced by Harry Holgate.
A determined campaign against a Franklin Dam by the Tasmanian Wilderness Society was underway, and Lowe hoped to get the support of the society's director, Bob Brown, for the Gordon-above-Olga proposal, also offering to set up a Wild Rivers National Park. Brown refused to support Lowe's alternative unless the "No Dams" option was reinstated on the ballot paper, and when Lowe was unable to comply with this request, the Wilderness Society encouraged its supporters to make their own option by writing "No Dams" on the ballot paper themselves. [2]
| Location | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Gordon River above its junction with Olga River | 20,184 | 7.94% |
| Gordon River below its junction with Franklin River | 119,875 | 47.17% |
| Informal (including ballot papers containing "No Dams") | 114,060 | 44.89% |
| Total | 254,119 | 100.00% |
| Seat | Enrolled | Gordon above Olga | Gordon below Franklin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | 55,584 | 4,392 (16.58%) | 22,095 (83.42%) |
| Braddon | 53,938 | 4,175 (13.73%) | 26,241 (86.27%) |
| Denison | 54,887 | 3,515 (14.14%) | 21,335 (85.86%) |
| Franklin | 56,568 | 3,820 (13.76%) | 23,934 (86.24%) |
| Wilmot | 55,189 | 4,282 (14.02%) | 26,270 (85.98%) |
| Total | 276,166 | 20,184 | 119,875 |
In the initial count of the ballot papers, a significant protest vote was evident, with tens of thousands of electors writing "No Dams" on their ballot papers. The Tasmanian Electoral Office initially disregarded all these votes as informal, even if the voter had indicated one of the legitimate options. Subsequent legal advice indicated that these votes should be counted, and 23,839 votes were reclassified as formal votes. [3]
| Location | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Gordon River above its junction with Olga River | 24,844 | 9.78% |
| Gordon River below its junction with Franklin River | 139,054 | 54.72% |
| Informal | 90,221 | 35.50% |
| Total | 254,119 | 100.00% |
| N.B.: Total ballot papers endorsed "No Dams" from all sources | 84,514 | 33.25% |
| Seat | Enrolled | Gordon above Olga | Gordon below Franklin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | 55,584 | 5,261 (17.17%) | 25,379 (82.83%) |
| Braddon | 53,938 | 5,057 (14.37%) | 30,131 (85.63%) |
| Denison | 54,887 | 4,364 (14.96%) | 24,800 (85.04%) |
| Franklin | 56,568 | 4,952 (14.91%) | 28,271 (85.09%) |
| Wilmot | 55,189 | 5,210 (14.60%) | 30,473 (85.40%) |
| Total | 276,166 | 24,844 | 139,054 |
Turnout: 92.01%
Despite the success of the 'No Dams' campaign demonstrated by the significant protest vote, the original Gordon-below-Franklin proposal was carried with a plurality in the referendum. Holgate, who had prorogued the House while the referendum was conducted, pledged the government would proceed with the dam construction. Almost as soon as the House reconvened, Labor lost a no-confidence motion, forcing an election for May 1982. At that election, Tasmanian Labor was roundly defeated by Robin Gray and the Liberal Party. Gray also pledged to build the dam.
On 5 March 1983, federal Labor won power, with new Prime Minister Bob Hawke promising to halt the dam project. The Commonwealth Government legislated to prohibit construction of the Franklin Dam, and the legislation was reinforced in the Commonwealth v Tasmania case before the High Court of Australia. [4]
Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers is a national park in Tasmania, 117 km west of Hobart. It is named after the two main river systems lying within the bounds of the park - the Franklin River and the Gordon River.
Robin Trevor Gray is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Tasmania from 1982 to 1989. A Liberal, he was elected Liberal state leader in 1981 and in 1982 defeated the Labor government of Harry Holgate on a policy of "state development," particularly the building of the Franklin Dam, a hydroelectric dam on the Franklin River. He was only the second non-Labor premier to hold the post in 48 years, and the first in 51 years to govern in majority.
Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made impoundment and diversion lake located in the southwest of Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake is formed by the 1972 damming of the Serpentine and Huon rivers by the Hydro Electric Commission of Tasmania for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation.
The Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of the most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history.
Lake Gordon is a man-made reservoir created by the Gordon Dam, located on the upper reaches of the Gordon River in the south-west region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Gordon River is a major perennial river located in the central highlands, south-west, and western regions of Tasmania, Australia.
Peter Dombrovskis was an Australian photographer, known for his Tasmanian scenes. In 2003, he was posthumously inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame, the first Australian photographer to achieve that honour.
Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or The Hydro, is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia. The Hydro was originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, due to Tasmania's dramatic topography and relatively high rainfall in the central and western parts of the state. Today Hydro Tasmania operates thirty hydro-electric and one gas power station, and is a joint owner in three wind farms.
The Wilderness Society is an Australian, community-based, not-for-profit non-governmental environmental advocacy organisation.
Commonwealth v Tasmania was a significant Australian court case, decided in the High Court of Australia on 1 July 1983. The case was a landmark decision in Australian constitutional law, and was a significant moment in the history of conservation in Australia. The case centred on the proposed construction of a hydro-electric dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, which was supported by the Tasmanian government, but opposed by the Australian federal government and environmental groups.
Douglas Ackley Lowe AM was the 35th Premier of Tasmania, from 1 December 1977 to 11 November 1981. His time as Premier coincided with controversy over a proposal to build a dam on Tasmania's Gordon River, which would have flooded parts of the Franklin River. The ensuing crisis saw Lowe overthrown as Premier and resign from the Labor Party, acting as an independent for the remainder of his political career.
The Tasmanian Wilderness Society was a Tasmanian environmental group that started in 1976 in response to a proposal by the state's Hydro Electric Commission to construct a dam on the Gordon River, downstream from the Franklin River, that led to the Franklin Dam controversy. The group evolved from membership of the South West Tasmania Action Committee and members of the United Tasmania Group. It was active in public protest about the issues of Wilderness, the Franklin River and South West Tasmania.
Norman Karl Sanders is an Australian former politician, representing the Australian Democrats in the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1980 to 1982 and the Australian Senate from 1985 to 1990.
The 1982 Tasmanian state election was held on 15 May 1982 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 Gordon River Road, sometimes called the Strathgordon Road, (B61), is a road in the south western region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Lake Pedder Action Committee was a Tasmanian environmental group.
Tasmania's Wilderness Battles: A History is a 2008 book by environmentalist Greg Buckman, who has "spent [his life] fighting Tasmanian environmental battles." The book looks at the wilderness areas of Tasmania which have been the focus of extensive conflict over environmental issues. Buckman presents a record of some of the significant events in that conflict, primarily from the viewpoint of an environmentalist.
Pieman River Power Development was a major 1970s and 1980s hydroelectric development of the Pieman River and its tributaries on the west coast of Tasmania.
The Tasmanian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as Tasmanian Labor, is the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Labor Party. It has been one of the most successful state Labor parties in Australia in terms of electoral success.
Anka Makovec was a Slovene-Australian artist and environmental activist.
 Elections and referendums in Tasmania | |
|---|---|
| General elections | |
| Legislative Council elections | |
| Local elections | |
| Referendums | |