Lance Armstrong (politician)

Lance John Edward Armstrong (17 February 1940 – 14 October 2023) was an Australian politician. Born in Perth, Western Australia, he was active in Tasmania and subsequently as a minister with the Uniting Church in Albury.

Political career[edit]

In 1989, Armstrong was elected, together with Christine Milne, Di Hollister, and incumbents Gerry Bates and Bob Brown, to the Tasmanian House of Assembly for Bass as a member of a group of independents under the leadership of Bob Brown, after a community backlash against a proposed paper pulp mill near Devonport. They together formed an alliance called the Green Independents, and held the balance of power in the government for three years, keeping Michael Field's minority Labor Party government in power in an arrangement called the Labor–Green Accord.

The state election of 1992 saw all five sitting Greens re-elected, but with a drop in their vote of around 25% and with a majority Liberal government in power. After the election, these independents were reconstituted as the Tasmanian Greens. However, they still operated akin to independents, as the Tasmanian Greens had adopted the policy of allowing parliamentary members a "conscience vote" on all issues.

In April, Armstrong introduced a bill to restrict advertising and display of publications. This bill was aimed at the display of publications such as People and Playboy in newsagents, which Armstrong argued were degrading to women, although magazine Green Left Weekly argued that "Armstrong's censorship legislation is likely to increase the climate of repressiveness around sexuality".

At the 1996 election, four Greens were returned and the Greens achieved the balance of power with a Liberal minority government, but Armstrong lost his seat of Bass.^[1]

After politics[edit]

Armstrong served as a Uniting Church minister in Albury-Wodonga.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, he controversially distributed a flyer urging residents not to vote for Henk van de Ven in Albury's local government elections, accusing van de Ven of "forceful and belligerent behaviour" in relation to an occasional child-care centre being built on council parkland.^[2]

Death[edit]

Armstrong died at a Melbourne nursing home on 14 October 2023, at the age of 83. He was survived by his wife Ruth, three children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Upon his death, former parliamentary colleague Bob Brown stated: "He made a remarkable contribution to Tasmanian politics and society. He seamlessly combined his Christian beliefs with his political career in his never-wavering advocacy for social justice, peace and care for the natural environment."^[3]

The Tasmanian Parliament moved a condolence motion for Armstrong on 19 October 2023.

References[edit]