Launceston is a city in the north of Tasmania,Australia,at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021,Launceston has a population of 87,645. Launceston is the second most populous city in Tasmania after the state capital,Hobart. As of 2020,Launceston is the 18th largest city in Australia. Launceston is fourth-largest inland city and the ninth-largest non-capital city in Australia. Launceston is regarded as the most liveable regional city,and was one of the most popular regional cities to move to in Australia from 2020 to 2021. Launceston was named Australian Town of the Year in 2022.
The history of Tasmania begins at the end of the most recent ice age when it is believed that the island was joined to the Australian mainland. Little is known of the human history of the island until the British colonisation in the 19th century.
The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament,the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital,Hobart. Members of the Legislative Council are often referred to as MLCs.
The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania,the Tasmanian House of Assembly,and Tasmanian Legislative Council. Since 1841,both Houses have met in Parliament House,Hobart. The Parliament of Tasmania first met in 1856.
The Tasmanian Government is the democratic administrative authority of the state of Tasmania,Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly,the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania,is invited by the governor of Tasmania to form government. The head of government is the premier of Tasmania.
Helen Beatrice Polley is an Australian politician who is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate,representing the state of Tasmania since 1 July 2005.
Sir Adye Douglas was an Australian lawyer and politician,and first class cricket player,who played one match for Tasmania. He was Premier of Tasmania from 15 August 1884 to 8 March 1886.
Janie Finlay is an Australian politician. She was first elected to the Launceston City Council in 2000 and from 2002 to 2005 served as Mayor. When Finlay was elected to that position in February 2002,at age 27,she was the youngest female mayor to serve in Australia.
Donald George Wing is a former Australian politician. A member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council from 1982 to 2011,representing the electoral division of Launceston,he was President of the Legislative Council from 2002 until 2008. Wing was also Mayor of Launceston from 1983 to 1987.
Gregory Raymond Hall is a former independent member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council in the McIntyre. He was also Mayor of the Meander Valley Council from 1997 to 2002. Hall was born in Launceston. He became a member of the Legislative Council at the 2001 Rowallan elections,defeating Russel Anderson.
Lin Estelle Thorp is a former Australian politician. She was a Labor Party member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council from 1999 until 2011,representing the electorate of Rumney,and serving as Minister for Human Services (2008–2010) and Minister for Education and Skills,Minister for Children,and Minister for Police and Emergency Management (2010–2011) in the Bartlett and Giddings governments. She was defeated for re-election to her state seat by independent Tony Mulder at the 2011 periodic elections,but was subsequently nominated to a casual vacancy for the Australian Senate in June 2012 caused by the resignation of Nick Sherry. She was defeated from the third position on the Tasmanian Labor Senate ticket at the 2013 federal election,and her term ended on 30 June 2014.
Kathryn Isobel Hay is an Australian Labor politician and former member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly in the electorate of Bass. She was first elected in the 2002 election.
Launceston City Council is a local government body in Tasmania,located in the city and surrounds of Launceston in the north of the state. The Launceston local government area is classified as urban and has a population of 67,449,which also encompasses the localities including Lilydale,Targa and through to Swan Bay on the eastern side of the Tamar River.
The Colony of Tasmania was a British colony that existed on the island of Tasmania from 1856 until 1901,when it federated together with the five other Australian colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. The possibility of the colony was established when the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Australian Constitutions Act in 1850,granting the right of legislative power to each of the six Australian colonies. The Legislative Council of Van Diemen's Land drafted a new constitution which they passed in 1854,and it was given Royal Assent by Queen Victoria in 1855. Later in that year the Privy Council approved the colony changing its name from "Van Diemen's Land" to "Tasmania",and in 1856,the newly elected bicameral parliament of Tasmania sat for the first time,establishing Tasmania as a self-governing colony of the British Empire. Tasmania was often referred to as one of the "most British" colonies of the Empire.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 2 May 2009. The three seats up for election were Derwent,held by Labor MLC Michael Aird;Mersey,held by retiring independent MLC Norma Jamieson;and Windermere,held by independent MLC Ivan Dean. These seats were last contested in 2003.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 2 May 2015. The three seats up for election were the electoral division of Derwent,the electoral division of Mersey and the electoral division of Windermere. Mersey and Windermere were previously contested in 2009,with Derwent contested in a by-election in 2011.
Jonathon Duniam is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Liberal Party and has served as a Senator for Tasmania since the 2016 federal election. He served as an assistant minister in the Morrison Government from 2019 until May 2022,following the appointment of the Albanese ministry. Prior to entering parliament Duniam was a political staffer,including as deputy chief of staff to Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman.
Ross Anthony Hart is a former Australian politician. He was the Australian Labor Party member for Bass from the 2016 federal election in which he defeated the sitting member,the Liberal Party of Australia's Andrew Nikolic with a 10.6-point swing against him. He lost the seat to Liberal Bridget Archer at the 2019 election.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 1 May 2021. The three seats that were up for election are Derwent,Mersey and Windermere. They were last contested in 2015. Only two of the three seats were actually contested,as the incumbent candidate for Mersey,Mike Gaffney,was returned unopposed.
Dean Winter is a Tasmanian Labor politician. He was elected as Mayor of Kingborough Council in 2018,and was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly at the 2021 Tasmanian state election,as an MP for Franklin.
