Secessionism in Tasmania

The opposition argued that Federation would cause financial devastation to Tasmania, which obtained much of its revenue from customs and excise.

[1] Most prominently among those who were concerned about Tasmania's future in the proposed federation was state statistician R. M. Johnston, who was supported by the Tasmanian attorney-general, Andrew Inglis Clark, and Nicholas John Brown, speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly.

In 1930,[1] a Tasmanian branch of the Dominion League (a Western Australian secessionist organisation) was formed, which aimed for a secession referendum, though some thought that this was unrealistic.

[1] In 1928, Thomas Murdoch introduced a motion into the Tasmanian Legislative Council calling for Tasmania's secession from the Commonwealth, although it was ultimately defeated.

][self-published source] In the 1990s, the now-defunct First Party of Tasmania was formed, which aimed for Tasmanian secession.