2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election

For the elections to the House of Assembly, see 2024 Tasmanian state election.

2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election

←  2023 4 May 2024 2025  →
3 of the 15 seats in the Legislative Council 8 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   IND Party Greens Independent Seats before 0 seats 7 seats Seats won 1 1 Seats after 1 7 Seat change 1   Third party Fourth party   Party Liberal Labor Seats before 4 seats 4 seats Seats won 1 0 Seats after 5 3 Seat change 1

The 2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election were held on 4 May 2024 to elect three members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council. The seats of Hobart and Prosser were up for election, with a by-election for the seat of Elwick also held concurrently. ^[1]

The Liberal Party retained Prosser with a swing towards them, while the Tasmanian Greens won their first upper house seat with a victory in Hobart. ^[2] The Labor Party lost the Elwick by-election to independent candidate Bec Thomas. ^[3]

Background

Unlike other Australian state parliaments, the Tasmanian House of Assembly is elected from multi-member districts, while the Legislative Council is elected from single-member districts. ^[4] The reverse is the case in most of the rest of Australia; that is, the lower house is elected from single-member districts while the upper house is elected from multi-member districts. ^[4]

The Legislative Council has 15 seats, with members elected to a six-year term. ^[5] Elections are staggered, alternating between three seats in one year and in two seats the next year, taking place on the first Saturday in May. ^{[4] [5]}

Tasmanian's upper house is unique in Australian politics, in that historically it is the only chamber in any state parliament to be significantly non-partisan. ^{[6] [7]} As of 2024, the chamber has a plurality of independents, although it has previously had an outright independent majority. ^{[8] [9]}

Electoral system

Legislative Council elections use partial preferential voting and the Robson Rotation. ^[10] In elections with four or less candidates, full preferential voting is effectively used, but for seats with five or more candidates, voters only have to number at least three boxes. ^{[11] [12]}

• Where there are more than 3 candidates, at least number 1, 2 and 3
• Where there are 3 candidates, at least number 1 and 2
• Where there are 2 candidates, at least number 1

Hobart

Location of the division of Hobart in Tasmania

The seat of Hobart, based in the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, has been held by independent member Rob Valentine since 2012; he announced he will not recontest. ^{[13] [14]} Former Tasmanian House of Assembly MP and former state Greens leader Cassy O'Connor announced she will contest Hobart. ^[14]

Hobart results

2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election: Hobart ^{[15] [16]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Greens	Cassy O'Connor	7,104	36.86	+36.86
	Independent	John Kelly	4,287	22.24	+22.24
	Labor	John Kamara	3,578	18.57	+18.57
	Independent	Charlie Burton	2,615	13.57	+13.57
	Independent	Stefan Vogel	725	3.76	+3.76
	Independent	Sam Campbell	522	2.71	+2.71
	Independent	Michael Haynes	441	2.29	+2.29
Total formal votes			19,272	97.49	+0.42
Informal votes			497	2.51	–0.42
Turnout			19,769	80.56	+4.14
Registered electors			24,538
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Greens	Cassy O'Connor	11,236	59.70	+59.70
	Independent	John Kelly	7,586	40.30	+40.30
	Greens gain from Independent

Prosser

Location of the division of Prosser in Tasmania

The east coast seat of Prosser has been held by Jane Howlett of the Liberal Party since 2018. ^[17] She announced she would run in the state election in the seat of Lyons. ^[18] She resigned on the 27th February 2024, as the resignation occurred near the scheduled periodic election in Prosser, no by-election was required. ^[19] Former Deputy Premier of Tasmania and Leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party in Tasmania, Bryan Green, was endorsed by Labor to run in the seat. ^[20] The mayor of the Sorell Council Kerry Vincent was announced as the Liberal Party candidate. ^[21]

Prosser results

2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election: Prosser ^{[15] [22]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Kerry Vincent	8,276	38.49	+12.36
	Labor	Bryan Green	6,176	28.75	+6.83
	Shooters, Fishers, Farmers	Phillip Bigg	2,664	12.40	+6.83
	Independent	Pam Sharpe	2,378	11.07	+11.07
	Independent	Kelly Spaulding	1,995	9.29	+7.34
Total formal votes			21,480	96.17	+1.18
Informal votes			856	3.83	–1.18
Turnout			22,336	81.46	–5.02
Registered electors			27,419
Two-party-preferred result
	Liberal	Kerry Vincent	11,186	52.93	+0.27
	Labor	Bryan Green	9,949	47.07	–0.27
	Liberal hold		Swing	+0.27

Elwick by-election

2024 Elwick state by-election

←  2022 4 May 2024 2028 →

First party Second party   IND Candidate Bec Thomas Tessa McLaughlin Party Independent Labor First preference vote 6,208 5,194 Percentage 33.93% 28.39% Swing 33.93 24.15 TPP 53.34% 46.66% TPP swing 53.34 5.88   Third party Fourth party   Candidate Janet Shelley Fabiano Cangelosi Party Greens Independent First preference vote 3,476 3,417 Percentage 19.00% 18.66% Swing 2.06 18.66

MLC before election Josh Willie Labor Elected MLC Bec Thomas Independent

A by-election for the seat of Elwick was also held with the periodic elections, following the resignation of incumbent MLC Josh Willie.

Willie, a member of the Labor Party, was first elected in 2016 and was re-elected in 2022.

He announced on the 26 November 2023 that he would run in the next state election in the seat of Clark. After the 2024 Tasmanian state election was announced, he resigned on 27 February. ^{[19] [23]}

Candidates

The mayor of the City of Glenorchy, Bec Thomas announced in March that she would contest the by-election. ^[24]

Barrister Fabiano Cangelosi sought Labor endorsement without any reciprocal requirement to vote with other Labor MPs. He resigned from the party to contest as an independent. Labor later endorsed Tessa McLaughlin as their candidate. ^[25]

Party		Candidate	Background
	Independent	Bec Thomas	Mayor of Glenorchy
	Labor	Tessa McLaughlin	Electrician [26]
	Greens	Janet Shelley	Sustainability expert [27]
	Independent	Fabiano Cangelosi	Barrister

Elwick results

2024 Elwick state by-election ^{[15] [28]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bec Thomas	6,208	33.93	+33.93
	Labor	Tessa McLaughlin	5,194	28.39	–24.15
	Greens	Janet Shelley	3,476	19.00	–2.06
	Independent	Fabiano Cangelosi	3,417	18.66	+18.66
Total formal votes			18,295	95.73	–0.63
Informal votes			816	4.27	+0.63
Turnout			19,111	80.74	+2.71
Registered electors			23,669
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Independent	Bec Thomas	9,758	53.34	+53.34
	Labor	Tessa McLaughlin	8,537	46.66	–5.88
	Independent gain from Labor

References

1. "About Legislative Council elections". Tasmanian Electoral Commission . 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
2. Langenberg, Adam (6 May 2024). "Tasmania's Legislative Council elections likely to deliver first-ever Greens upper house member". ABC News. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
3. "Glenorchy mayor elected to Upper House seat of Elwick". The Mercury. 7 May 2024. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
4. Raue, Ben. "Tasmanian Legislative Council elections, 2024". The Tally Room. Archived from the original on 23 August 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
5. Bowe, William (3 May 2024). "Tasmanian upper house elections: Hobart, Prosser, Elwick". The Poll Bludger. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
6. "Government and society in Tasmania". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
7. "What is the Legislative Council?". Meg Webb MLC. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
8. Forbes, Scott (21 August 2014). "The apple in Val Schier's eye: Former mayor heads to Tasmania and attempts new tilt in politics". Cairns Post. Archived from the original on 21 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
9. Crowley, Kate; Lippis, Joshua. "Independents in Tasmania's Legislative Council: Analysing strategies to achieve influence" (PDF). Australasian Study of Parliament Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
10. "Voting systems in Tasmania - A summary". Tasmanian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
11. "How Should We Solve The Problem Of Unintended Informal Voting?". Dr Kevin Bonham. 23 July 2020. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
12. "Preferential Voting in Single Member Electorates - Tasmania". Electoral Council of Australia and New Zealand. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
13. "Division of Hobart Election Chronology". Tasmanian Electoral Commission . 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
14. Adam Langenberg (14 July 2023). "Cassy O'Connor's bid for upper house seat could see first Green in Tasmania's Legislative Council". ABC News. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
15. "The candidates". Tasmanian Electoral Commission . 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
16. Results in Hobart
17. "Division of Prosser Election Chronology". Tasmanian Electoral Commission . 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
18. Adam Langenberg and Adam Holmes (19 February 2024). "Candidates are being finalised for Tasmania's election — with no shortage of familiar faces". ABC News. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
19. "Two resignations in the Legislative Council". Tasmanian Electoral Commission . 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
20. Maloney, Matt (8 December 2023). "Bryan Green to stand for election to parliament in 2024". The Examiner . Australian Community Media . Retrieved 8 December 2023.
21. Bailey, Sue (3 April 2024). "Another Tasmanian mayor seeking election to upper house". The Mercury (Hobart) . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 4 May 2024.
22. Results in Prosser
23. Adam Holmes (26 November 2023). "Josh Willie reveals tilt for lower house as ALP makes first move in bid for Clark seats". ABC News. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
24. Bailey, Sue (25 March 2024). "Another Glenorchy mayor seeks to join state parliament". The Mercury (Hobart) . News Corp Australia . Retrieved 25 March 2024.
25. "Fabiano Cangelosi nominates for Labor for Elwick but lays down conditions". The Mercury. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
26. "Tessa McLaughlin". Tasmanian Labor. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
27. "JANET SHELLEY". Tasmanian Greens. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
28. Results in Elwick