Editing Joseph Lyons (section)

==State politics==
[[File:Joseph Lyons - Minister for Railways.jpg|thumb|upright|Lyons as a state government minister (c. 1914–16)]]
Lyons came from a family that was broadly sympathetic to the [[Australian labour movement]], but without any formal political involvement. Though widely read, he did not actively participate in politics until after leaving Stanley. Lyons helped found a branch of the [[Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch)|Workers' Political League]] during his time in Smithton, but was forced to resign his membership due to restrictions on the involvement of public servants in political activities.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=45}} Those rules were later relaxed, and by 1908 he was spending most of his free time campaigning for the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]];{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=54}} he had a reputation as a first-rate orator.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=51}} Lyons was elected to the [[Tasmanian House of Assembly]] at the [[1909 Tasmanian state election|1909 state election]], standing in the six-member [[Division of Wilmot (state)|Division of Wilmot]].{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=64}} This required him to resign from the Education Department and give up his teaching career, which reduced his annual salary from £125 to £100.{{Efn|Tasmanian MPs did not get a pay rise until 1913, when their salary doubled to £200. Lyons was among those who argued for the amount to be increased, on the grounds that their remuneration was insufficient to cover the larger electorates introduced in 1909.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=59}}}} He was comfortably re-elected [[1912 Tasmanian state election|in 1912]], although he was attacked with a horsewhip during one of his campaign speeches. The son of one of his political opponents was convicted of assault, and the incident received widespread media attention.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|pp=75–76}}

Labor came to power in Tasmania in 1914, after the existing [[Tasmanian Liberal League|Liberal]] government of [[Albert Solomon]] was defeated on a [[confidence motion]]. The new premier was [[John Earle (Australian politician)|John Earle]], who had previously held office for one week in October 1909.<ref>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography|last= Lake|first= Marilyn|volume=8|year=1981|id2=earle-john-6077|title= Earle, John (1865–1932)}}</ref> In the new government, Lyons was made [[Treasurer of Tasmania|Treasurer]], Minister for Education, and Minister for Railways; it was common for ministers to hold more than one portfolio.<ref name=adb>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography|last1= Hart|first1= P. R. |last2=Lloyd|first2=C. J. |year=1986|id2=lyons-joseph-aloysius-joe-7278|title= Lyons, Joseph Aloysius (1879–1939)   |access-date=13 January 2008 }}</ref> He was somewhat inexperienced with economic matters, and often turned to his friend and colleague [[Lyndhurst Giblin]] for advice; they eventually renewed their relationship at federal level during the 1930s.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=101}} Less than a month after taking office, Lyons announced that the government was moving its accounts from the [[Commercial Bank of Tasmania]] to the [[Commonwealth Bank]], which had only been established a few years earlier. In return he was able to secure a substantial loan and an [[overdraft]] of £100,000. The government faced a number of challenges during its two years in office, including a statewide drought, a series of [[bushfires in Australia|bushfires]] in early 1915, and labour shortages due to the ongoing war.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=99}} As Labor was in [[minority government|minority]], many of its legislative initiatives were thwarted by the opposition.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=103}} The party lost the [[1916 Tasmanian state election|1916 state election]] by two seats, despite increasing its share of the vote.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=104}}

[[File:Joseph Lyons - Reynolds.jpg|thumb|upright|Caricature of Lyons as premier]]

When the ALP split over conscription during the First World War in 1916, Earle, a pro-conscriptionist, followed Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]] out of the Labor party. Like most Australians of Irish Catholic background, Lyons was an anti-conscriptionist and stayed in the Labor Party, becoming its new leader in Tasmania.<ref name=adb/>

===Premier of Tasmania===
Lyons led the Labor opposition in the Tasmanian Parliament until 1923 when he became [[Premier of Tasmania]], leading a minority ALP government. He held office until 1928, also serving as Treasurer during the whole period of his premiership. Lyons's government was cautious and pragmatic, establishing good relations with business and the conservative government in Canberra, but attracting some criticism from unionists within his own party. Labor narrowly lost the 1928 state election to the [[Nationalist Party of Australia|Nationalist Party]].<ref name=dab>{{cite web |first=Percival |last=Serle |title =Lyons, Joseph Aloysius (1879–1939) |publisher =[[Project Gutenberg Australia]] |work=[[Dictionary of Australian Biography]] |url =http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks15/1500721h/0-dict-biogL.html#lyons1 |access-date = 13 January 2008}}</ref><ref name=adb/>

As premier, Lyons faced a [[constitutional crisis]] relating to the powers of the [[Tasmanian Legislative Council]] (the parliament's upper house). The Legislative Council had a limited franchise and was occupied mostly by conservative landowners, and was consequently opposed to much of the government's platform. Historically, it had claimed for itself the power to amend [[money bill]]s, despite having no express constitutional authority to do so. In November 1924, the council returned the government's budget to the Legislative Assembly with a series of proposed reductions in spending. Lyons chose to ignore the amendments, instead sending the bill directly to the Administrator, [[Herbert Nicholls]], who approved it. In 1926, the government amended the state constitution to codify the Legislative Council's powers over money bills, bringing them into line with the other states.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|pp=159–163}}

On 15 July 1926, Lyons suffered severe leg injuries when his car—driven by a chauffeur—collided with a goods train near [[Perth, Tasmania|Perth]]. He came close to death, and stood down from public duties for four months to recover; [[Allan Guy]] was acting premier in his absence. [[Michael O'Keefe (Tasmanian politician)|Michael O'Keefe]], the [[Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly]], was also a passenger in the car, and lingered for several months before dying of his injuries.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=177}}