The Centre Party was a minor Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 formed by Kevin Lyons

Kevin Lyons

Kevin Orchard Lyons was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the seat of Darwin...

 in 1969, which held the balance of power

Balance of power (parliament)

In parliamentary politics, the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor political party or other grouping whose guaranteed support may enable an otherwise minority government to obtain and hold office...

 in the Tasmanian House of Assembly

Tasmanian House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House...

 following the 1969 state election

Tasmanian state election, 1969

A general election for the Tasmanian House of Assembly was held on 10 May 1969. The incumbent Labor Party, which had been in power continuously since 1934, was led by Eric Reece, who had been premier of Tasmania since 1958. The opposition Liberal Party was led by Angus Bethune.The election resulted...

 in Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

. The party formed a minority government

Minority government

A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

 with the Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

, with Lyons acting as Deputy Premier to Angus Bethune from 1969 to 1972.

Kevin Lyons, the son of Tasmanian politician Joseph Lyons

Joseph Lyons

Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...

, was originally a member of the Liberal Party. In 1966, a dispute arose over preselection and Lyons resigned from the Liberals on 7 September. Lyons remained in the House of Assembly as an independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

, until the 1969 election when he ran for the newly formed Centre Party, a repackaged version of the Country Party

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

 which had never performed well in Tasmania. Lyons was elected to the House of Assembly as the party's only MHA, after substantial numbers of preferences were transferred to him from Liberal voters in the electorate of Darwin

Division of Darwin

The Division of Darwin was an Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania. The division was created in 1903 and abolished in 1955, when it was replaced by the Division of Braddon. It was named after Charles Darwin, who visited Australia in 1836. It was located in north-western Tasmania, including the...

. Labor and the Liberals both won 17 seats in the House, resulting in a hung parliament

Hung parliament

In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...

, with the Centre Party's one seat giving Lyons the balance of power. In negotiations with Bethune, Lyons agreed to form a coalition government

Coalition government

A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...

 with the Liberals, and became Bethune's deputy premier. The Liberal-Centre coalition lasted until 1972, with Lyons resigning as Deputy Premier after a dispute with Bethune, effectively dissolving the party and the coalition. The resulting instability triggered the 1972 election

Tasmanian state election, 1972

Elections for the Tasmanian House of Assembly were held on 22 April 1972. The one-term Liberal government of Premier Angus Bethune had collapsed following the withdrawal of support by Kevin Lyons...

, which was won by the Labor Party's Eric Reece

Eric Reece

Eric Elliott Reece, AC was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975.-Biography:...

.