Campaign
On 8 February, the Premier announced that Tasmania's first televised leaders' debate would be held on 14 March between himself and opposition leader Will Hodgman, and would be broadcast nationally by Sky News. [8] At the time of the announcement, Mr Hodgman was not aware of the debate and Greens leader Nick McKim was not invited. [9]
On 10 March, around 100 forest workers protested outside the Greens official campaign launch. [10]
On 12 March, two Liberal and two Labor ex-premiers—Paul Lennon, Michael Field, Robin Gray and Tony Rundle—issued a joint press release warning voters of the dangers of minority government with the Greens holding the balance of power. [11]
In the week before the election, the Labor party distributed leaflets alleging that the Greens had a plan to legalise heroin and give "violent criminals" the right to vote. [12] In addition, 20,000 automated phone calls (robocalls) were made to residents of Braddon repeating these claims about the Greens, although Labor ended the campaign after a public backlash. [13]
On 15 March, David Bartlett said he would resign if the Liberal party won more seats than Labor. [14]
Outcome
Labor lost four seats on a swing of 12.39 percentage points against it, whilst the Liberals gained three seats and the Greens one—the latter recording their highest ever statewide vote of 21.61%. This meant that both the Labor and Liberal Parties had 10 seats each, meaning neither could form majority government. It took over two weeks for the results to be formally declared, although the number of seats for each party was almost certain by the end of counting on the night of the election and the main question was which representatives of each party would win a seat, with the Hare-Clark and Robson rotation systems meaning that some incumbent members on both sides of parliament were defeated by newcomers from their own party. [16] The only inter-party battles for a seat during the counting process were between the Greens and Liberals for the final seat in Braddon (won by the Greens), and between independent Andrew Wilkie and the Liberals for the final seat in Denison (won by the Liberals).
Attention was then focussed on the positions of the parties. Greens leader Nick McKim declared he was willing to make a deal with either party, whilst incumbent Premier David Bartlett and opposition leader Will Hodgman insisted they would stick to promises made before the election not to make any deals. Bartlett had also pledged that whoever won the most seats or, in the event of a tie, the most votes would have the right to form a government. Since the Liberals had won the popular vote by a margin of 6,700 votes, both leaders now claimed this meant that Hodgman had the right to form a ministry. [16] On 1 April, the Labor caucus unanimously agreed to relinquish power, and Bartlett then advised the Governor, Peter Underwood, that Hodgman should be summoned to form a government. [17] Former federal Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson called Bartlett "silly" for not negotiating with the Greens. [18]
On 7 April the results were formally declared. Under the Constitution Act 1934 Underwood had seven days to commission a Government. Ultimately, after speaking to Bartlett and Hodgman, he recommissioned Bartlett on 9 April. He released detailed reasons for his decision, saying that Bartlett did not have the right to promise power to Hodgman, and that Hodgman was not in a position to form stable government. He regarded as irrelevant the position of the Greens, regarding it as a matter for the Assembly as a whole to test or maintain support for the ministry. [19] According to ABC News, Hodgman never held talks with the Greens, and Barrett had not promised a minimum period of support for a prospective Liberal minority government. Had Hodgman been named premier, it was possible that his government would have been defeated at its first sitting. Since longstanding convention in the Westminster system holds that an incumbent premier should have the first chance to form a government after an election, Underwood decided to recommission Bartlett and allow him to demonstrate that he had support on the floor of the Assembly. [20]
Hodgman accused Bartlett of breaking his promise to hand over power, noting that in a letter to the Governor, Bartlett had contradicted a public statement made on 1 April where he had said he would not move any vote of no confidence against a Liberal government. [21] However, Professor Richard Herr of the University of Tasmania had earlier argued that it was likely Bartlett would remain in office. He doubted that the House would reassemble in the week after the writs were returned, and precedent required Underwood to recommission Bartlett and allow Parliament to decide his fate. He added that part of a premier's duty as principal adviser to a governor is to give advice that a governor can legally accept. [22] Constitutional law expert Michael Stokes disagreed, saying too high a bar had been set for the Liberals and Labor had not proven it could deliver stable government in the new Assembly. [23]
On the day before the decision was finalised, the Greens indicated that as no party had shown a willingness to negotiate a deal with them, they would neither initiate nor support a vote of no confidence against the Labor government until a deal with either party could be arranged. [24]
On 13 April, to meet the deadline imposed by the Constitution Act 1934, Governor Underwood swore in an interim cabinet, consisting of David Bartlett as Premier, Lara Giddings as Deputy Premier and Attorney-General, and Michael Aird as Treasurer. [25]
On 19 April 2010, after a week of negotiations, Bartlett agreed to a coalition with the Greens. He named McKim as a minister in his cabinet and also named Cassy O'Connor, Greens member for Denison, as cabinet secretary. [26]
On 4 May, the Greens nominated Tim Morris for the position of Deputy Speaker—a surprise for Labor who had nominated Brenton Best. With the support of the Liberals, Morris was elected with 15 votes to Best's 8. [27] On 5 May, the first day of sitting for the new parliament, the Liberals moved a motion of no-confidence against the Bartlett government, which was defeated by Labor and the Greens. [28]
The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign. They form a part of the Australian Greens.
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. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart.
Paul Anthony Lennon is a Labor Party politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 21 March 2004 until his resignation on 26 May 2008. He was member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the seat of Franklin from 1990 until officially resigning on 27 May 2008. He left office abruptly after his preferred premier rating fell to 17%, largely as a result of perceptions of corruption in his government's fast-tracked approval of the Gunns Bell Bay Pulp Mill proposal, which had effectively bypassed normal planning procedure.
Michael Ferguson is an Australian politician who is currently the Deputy Premier of Tasmania since April 2022. He has been a Liberal Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly in the Division of Bass since the 2010 state election. Ferguson was appointed to cabinet after his party's victory in the 2014 state election and has served continuously as Minister in a range of portfolios including Finance, Health, Infrastructure, Transport, State Growth and Science and Technology. He is also the Leader of the House.
An election for the House of Assembly was held in the Australian state of Tasmania on 18 March 2006, the same day as the South Australian elections. The Labor Party led by Premier Paul Lennon, won a third successive majority government term in office, despite predictions the election would result in a minority government. Although there was a small swing against Labor, they finished with 14 seats, and there were no changes in the party composition of the assembly. The Liberal Party led by Rene Hidding gained a small swing and finished with seven seats. The Tasmanian Greens led by Peg Putt suffered a small swing and finished with four seats; meaning no change in seat representation since the last election. Had the Greens lost one of their four seats, they would have lost their status as a major party and would lose financial resources, offices and support staff.
William Edward Felix Hodgman is an Australian diplomat and former politician who has been the High Commissioner of Australia to Singapore since February 2021. He was the 45th Premier of Tasmania and a member for the Division of Franklin in the Tasmanian House of Assembly from the 2002 state election until his resignation in January 2020. He became premier following the 2014 state election, having been Leader of the Opposition since 2006. He was re-elected to a second term in government following victory in the 2018 state election.
William Michael Hodgman AM QC was an Australian politician and lawyer. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served as Minister for the Capital Territory in the Fraser government from 1980 to 1983. He was active in both state and federal politics, serving in the Tasmanian Legislative Council (1966–1974), Australian House of Representatives (1975–1987), and Tasmanian House of Assembly. His son Will Hodgman was Premier of Tasmania for 6 years, until his resignation in January 2020.
David John Bartlett is an Australian former politician in the state of Tasmania, serving as the 43rd Premier of Tasmania from May 2008 until January 2011. He was a Labor Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Denison from 2004 to 2011 when he retired.
Peter George Underwood, was an Australian jurist and the Governor of Tasmania from 2008 until his death in 2014. He was the Chief Justice of Tasmania from 2004 to 2008, having been a judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania from 1984.
Jeremy Page Rockliff is an Australian politician and farmer, and the 47th and current premier of Tasmania since 2022. He has been the leader of the Tasmanian division of the Liberal Party of Australia since 2022 and a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the division of Braddon since the 2002 election. He was previously the 20th deputy premier of Tasmania from 2014 to 2022. Since the electoral defeat of the Coalition government in New South Wales in March 2023, Rockliff is the only incumbent non-Labor leader of an Australian state government.
Cassandra Stanwell O'Connor is an Australian politician, who was a Tasmanian Greens member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 2008 to 2023, representing the electorate of Division of Denison which was renamed to Clark in September 2018.
Peter Carl Gutwein is an Australian politician who was the 46th premier of Tasmania from 2020 to 2022. He was a Liberal Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 2002 to 2022, representing the electorate of Bass. He succeeded Will Hodgman as leader of the Liberal Party and Tasmanian Premier on 20 January 2020.
The 2014 Tasmanian state election was held on 15 March 2014 to elect all 25 members to the House of Assembly. The 16-year incumbent Labor government, led by the Premier of Tasmania Lara Giddings, sought to win a fifth consecutive term in government, but was defeated by the Liberal opposition, led by Opposition Leader Will Hodgman, in a landslide victory. Also contesting the election was the Greens led by Nick McKim. The Palmer United Party made a significant effort in the election.
The 2018 Tasmanian state election was held on 3 March 2018 to elect all 25 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly.
Madeleine Ruth Ogilvie is an Australian lawyer and politician. She is a Liberal Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the Division of Clark and is the Minister for Small Business, Advanced Manufacturing and Defence Industries, Science and Technology, Racing and Heritage in the Rockliff ministry. She was previously the Minister for Hospitality, Racing, Small Business, Women and Disability Services in the Second Gutwein Ministry for six weeks.
Susanne Lynnette Hickey is an Australian politician. She represented the electorate of Denison from the 2018 state election until her defeat at the 2021 election, sitting with the Liberal Party until March 2021, when she quit the party and became an independent.
The Tasmanian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division) and more simply as the Tasmanian Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Tasmania. The party currently governs in Tasmania as the only Liberal government in Australia, either state or territory, or Federal level. The party is part of the federal Liberal Party of Australia, currently in opposition.
The 2021 Tasmanian state election was held on 1 May 2021 to elect all 25 members to the Tasmanian House of Assembly.
The Tasmanian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as Tasmanian Labor, is the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Labor Party. It has been one of the most successful state Labor parties in Australia in terms of electoral success.
The 2024 Tasmanian state election was held on 23 March 2024 to elect all 35 members to the House of Assembly.
