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All 35 seats in the House of Assembly 18 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Opinion polls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Registered | 408,197 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 372,077 (91.2% 1.2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results of the election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2024 Tasmanian state election was held on 23 March 2024 to elect all 35 members to the House of Assembly.
The House of Assembly uses the proportional Hare-Clark system of voting, with the 35 members elected from five seven-member constituencies. The Assembly's size was increased from 25 to 35 seats at this election, under the provisions of the Expansion of House of Assembly Act 2022, assented to in December 2022. [2] [3] The election was conducted by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission. Elections for the 15-seat single-member district upper house, known as the Legislative Council, which use full-preference instant-runoff voting, are staggered each year and conducted separately from lower house state elections.
The Liberal government, led by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, and the Labor opposition, led by Rebecca White, both attempted to win majority government. The Greens and the Jacqui Lambie Network also contested the election, as well as several independents and other minor parties.
The election resulted in a hung parliament, with the Liberal Party remaining the largest party by both vote share and seat total; winning 14 seats. Labor and the Greens won 10 and five seats respectively, with both parties experiencing only a small increase in their respective vote percentages, despite a large swing against the Liberal Party. The majority of the swing went to independents and the Jacqui Lambie Network, who won three seats in its first state election. Both major parties fell short of a majority, with the Liberals and Labor requiring four and eight seats respectively from the crossbench to form government. [4]
The day after the election, Labor conceded and its leader Rebecca White stated the party would not seek to negotiate with other MPs to form a government, triggering a leadership election. [5] On 10 April, the Liberal Party and Jacqui Lambie Network announced an agreement had been reached for the latter to provide confidence and supply to the government. [6] The second Rockliff ministry was sworn in the following day with Independent MP David O'Byrne providing written assurance of confidence and supply, giving the Liberal party the numbers required to form government. [7] [8]
Ultimately, both O'Byrne and fellow independent Kristie Johnston signed confidence and supply agreements with the government, giving it 19 of the 35 votes on the floor of the parliament. [9] It was the first time that a non-Labor party in Tasmania had won a fourth consecutive term in government since adopting the Liberal banner in 1945. [10]
Under section 23 of the Constitution Act 1934, the House of Assembly was to expire four years from the return of the writs for its election, which took place on 1 May 2021. [11] The Governor must issue writs of election between five and ten days thereafter. [12] Nominations must close on a date seven to twenty-one days after the issuance of the writ, [13] and polling day must be a Saturday between 22 and 30 days after nominations close. [14]
In May 2023, Premier Jeremy Rockliff ruled out holding an early election, in contrast to his predecessor (Peter Gutwein), who called the last state election a year early. [15] However on 14 February 2024, Rockliff visited with Governor Barbara Baker to request that an election be called a year early after the Liberal government was forced into a minority, a request which was accepted. It was the second consecutive occasion the Premier of Tasmania called a snap election after Gutwein called the previous state election a year early for a similar reason.
Important dates in relation to the election are: [16]
The TEC estimates the following dates for counting progress: [17]
After the snap 2021 election, the Liberal Party successfully won a majority of seats in the Tasmanian House of Assembly. [18] A Liberal MP for Braddon, Adam Brooks, resigned on 14 May 2021 after being charged with firearms offences by Queensland law enforcement. These offences were unauthorised possession of a Category H weapon, unauthorised possession of explosives, and dealing with identity documents. Premier Peter Gutwein said that "I made the decision that under the circumstances of both his mental health and in terms of the fact that he's now facing these new charges, that he won't take his seat in parliament." Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said that "there are now very serious questions to answer about whether or not he was ever considered a legitimate candidate by the Liberal Party", given he resigned "the day the polls [were] declared". Prior claims from women were made before the 2021 election, saying they were catfished by Brooks under the alias "Terry Brooks". [19] Despite the resignation, the Liberal Party's numbers in the House of Assembly were unchanged, due to the replacing member being a member of the party.
Rebecca White resigned as Labor leader on 15 May 2021, endorsing shadow treasurer David O'Byrne to replace her. [20] [21] On 15 June 2021, it was announced that O'Byrne had been elected as leader of the Tasmanian Labor Party against opponent Shane Broad, winning 72% of the members' vote and 75% of party delegates. [22] After allegations of him sexting and kissing a woman without her consent were revealed, David O'Byrne stood aside from his role as leader of the Labor Party for the length of an investigation on 30 June 2021, with Anita Dow acting as leader during the interim. [23] This was followed by O'Byrne announcing he would resign as leader on 4 July 2021. [24] On 7 July 2021, Rebecca White was elected as leader after a meeting of the Labor parliamentary caucus. [25]
On 4 April 2022, Premier Peter Gutwein announced he would quit politics, resigning as Premier and as a member for Bass following the appointment of a new Premier. [26] Jeremy Rockliff, who had been the deputy Liberal leader for 16 years, officially replaced Gutwein as Premier on 8 April 2022, with Bass MP Michael Ferguson as his deputy. [27]
On 25 May 2022, Premier Rockliff announced his intention to table a bill in State Parliament to restore the state's House of Assembly to 35 seats before the end of 2022. [28] [29] The bill restored the size of parliament to its original number before the reductions to 25 seats was implemented at the 1998 election. The change will come into effect at this election. The legislation was supported by the Liberals, Labor, Greens and independent Kristie Johnston. [30] It became law upon its assent by the Governor in December 2022. [2]
On 11 May 2023, MPs Lara Alexander and John Tucker resigned as members of the Tasmanian Liberal Party and from all parliamentary committees, and served the remainder of their terms as independents on the crossbench. This left the Liberal party in minority government and requiring 7 seats to reach a majority in the next state election. [31] Tucker and Alexander both agreed to provide the government with confidence and supply. [1]
On 4 January 2024, Tucker threatened to withdraw his support for the government if it failed to act on his demands for mandatory CCTV in all abattoirs in the state and the cessation of planning for a professional sports training facility at Rosny Parklands and a 25,000-seat stadium at Macquarie Point for an Australian Football League (AFL) team in 2028. [32] In response Rockliff stated in an interview on 2 February, that he would ask the Governor for a snap election if Tucker and Alexander failed to agree on a new governing deal that required the two MPs to not support proposals or changes to legislation raised by Labor, Green or other independent MPs in parliament without the permission of the government. [33] On 13 February, Rockliff announced that the Liberal party room had endorsed a snap election due to there being no agreement reached between the government and the independent MPs. [34] The following day Rockliff visited Governor Barbara Baker at Government House, who accepted his request for an election to be held on 23 March 2024. [35]
Since the 2021 election, there were a number of changes within the Tasmanian Parliament which affected the balance of power in the chamber.
Seat | Before | Change | After | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member | Party | Type | Date | Date | Member | Party | |||
Braddon | Adam Brooks | Liberal | Resignation | 14 March 2021 | 3 June 2021 | Felix Ellis | Liberal | ||
Franklin | David O'Byrne | Labor | Defection | 23 August 2021 | David O'Byrne | Independent Labor | |||
Bass | Sarah Courtney | Liberal | Resignation | 10 February 2022 | 25 March 2022 | Lara Alexander | Liberal | ||
Bass | Peter Gutwein | Liberal | Resignation | 8 April 2022 | 25 April 2022 | Simon Wood | Liberal | ||
Franklin | Jacquie Petrusma | Liberal | Resignation | 25 July 2022 | 16 August 2022 | Dean Young | Liberal | ||
Bass | Lara Alexander | Liberal | Defection | 11 May 2023 | Lara Alexander | Independent | |||
Lyons | John Tucker | Liberal | Defection | 11 May 2023 | John Tucker | Independent | |||
Clark | Cassy O'Connor | Greens | Resignation | 13 July 2023 | 1 August 2023 | Vica Bayley | Greens | ||
Clark | Elise Archer | Liberal | Defection | 29 September 2023 | Elise Archer | Independent | |||
Clark | Elise Archer | Independent | Resignation | 4 October 2023 | 24 October 2023 | Simon Behrakis | Liberal | ||
Franklin | David O'Byrne | Independent Labor | Defection | 4 February 2024 | David O'Byrne | Independent | |||
A record 167 candidates nominated. [36]
Seven parties are registered with the Tasmanian Electoral Commission (TEC). [37] The list of parties registered are:
Parties | Leader(s) | Ideology | Position | Seats | Status | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Last election | Before election | After election | ||||||
Liberal | Jeremy Rockliff | Liberalism Liberal conservatism | Centre-right | 13 / 25 | 11 / 25 | 14 / 35 | Minority government | |
Labor | Rebecca White | Social democracy | Centre-left | 9 / 25 | 8 / 25 | 10 / 35 | Opposition | |
Greens | Rosalie Woodruff | Green politics Progressivism | Left-wing | 2 / 25 | 2 / 25 | 5 / 35 | Crossbench | |
Lambie Network | Jacqui Lambie | Populism | Big tent | 0 / 25 | 0 / 25 | 3 / 35 | Crossbench (With confidence and supply) | |
Independents | — | — | Various | 1 / 25 | 4 / 25 | 3 / 35 | Crossbench | |
On 29 February 2024, Rockliff stated that if re-elected, his government would remove the protections from 40,000 hectares of protected native forest, allowing them to be logged. [38]
On 10 March 2024, Rockliff committed A$12 million to support building a "chocolate experience" centre near the Hobart Cadbury factory, which would include the "world's largest chocolate fountain". [39]
On 11 March 2024, White put forth plans for a shared-equity housing scheme that would allow couples earning under $200,000 and singles earning under $150,000 to partake in a deal with the government, allowing them to buy a property without a deposit, and the government retaining a 20% share of the property. [40]
On 14 March 2024, social media erupted after a mock website of the Jacqui Lambie Network was discovered online. [41] The URL (lambienetwork.com) is said by various media outlets to be shockingly similar to Lambie's true website, (lambienetwork.com.au). [42] The page is owned by the Liberals as is evident by authorisation details on the page. [43] The page itself is a mock-up of the style of the valid page, instead criticising Senator Lambie and her candidates for a lack of policies in the upcoming election. [44] Lambie described herself as "absolutely ropable" when she became aware of the page. [42] When Premier Rockliff was asked about the page, he stated, "We have every right to point out the policy failings of all political parties." [45] The Tasmanian Electoral Commission has been contacted about the page. [42]
On 17 March 2024, Rockliff announced an intention to amend the Tasmanian Constitution to add a clause that would legislate that if an MP left the party on which they were elected, they would vacate their seat of parliament. [46] The proposed amendment has been criticised by various officials, including former-Liberal turned independent MP, John Tucker. Tucker designated the legislation as "Rocky's rule or else." Among other criticisms. [47] Rockliff describes it as the only way to ensure a stable government continues throughout the term. [46] Labor candidate for Franklin, Dean Winter, speculates the legislation may be in attempt to prevent candidate Eric Abetz from diverging from the Liberals in event of disagreement on same-sex conversion laws, of which Abetz has countering views to his party. [48]
On 20 March 2024, during the Sky News Australia Peoples Forum debate between White and Rockliff, White pledged that if a Labor government was elected in this election, they will construct a public elective surgery hospital in New Town, Tasmania. The hospital is proposed to have 24 overnight beds, along with 8 theatres. The budget is expected to be $160m, and would be completed by 2027. [49]
The Jacqui Lambie Network ran for parliament with a no policy agenda. [50] [51] [52]
Polling is regularly conducted for Tasmanian state politics by Enterprise Marketing and Research Services (EMRS). The sample size for each EMRS poll is 1,000 Tasmanian voters. [53]
The latest polling by uComms on behalf The Australia Institute indicates that the Liberals will win 13 seats, Labor would win 8, The Greens would win 5, Lambie Network 3, and there would be 6 Independents. This would indicate that neither of the major parties could win a majority, and instead would need to form a minority government with Lambie, Greens or Independent MPs. Although both major parties have expressed a dislike in forming coalition, [54] [55] with Labor outright denying a Greens-Labor coalition, [56] and the Liberals refusing to trade policies. [57] The Greens are holding out hope for a coalition, stating they prefer Labor over Liberals in terms of forming a minority government. [58]
Date | Firm | Political parties | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Labor | Greens | JLN | Ind/Other | ||||
4–5 March 2024 | uComms [59] | 37% | 23% | 14% | 8% | 18% | ||
16–28 February 2024 | Redbridge [60] | 33% | 29% | 14% | 10% | 14% | ||
15–21 February 2024 | EMRS [61] | 39% | 26% | 12% | 9% | 15% | ||
21 December 2023 – 4 January 2024 | YouGov [62] | 31% | 27% | 15% | 20% | 7% | ||
30 November 2023 | EMRS [63] | 39% | 29% | 12% | — | 19% | ||
15–19 August 2023 | EMRS [64] | 38% | 32% | 14% | — | 15% | ||
15–19 May 2023 | EMRS [65] | 36% | 31% | 15% | — | 18% | ||
14–19 February 2023 | EMRS [66] | 42% | 30% | 13% | — | 15% | ||
8–15 November 2022 | EMRS [67] | 42% | 29% | 14% | — | 16% | ||
8–11 August 2022 | EMRS [68] | 41% | 31% | 13% | — | 15% | ||
27 May – 2 June 2022 | EMRS [69] | 39% | 30% | 13% | — | 18% | ||
28 February – 1 March 2022 | EMRS [70] | 41% | 31% | 12% | — | 16% | ||
28 November – 5 December 2021 | EMRS [71] | 49% | 26% | 13% | — | 12% | ||
7–9 August 2021 | EMRS [72] | 49% | 28% | 13% | — | 10% | ||
1 May 2021 | 2021 election | 48.72% | 28.20% | 12.38% | — | 10.71% | ||
Date | Firm | Party leaders | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rockliff | White | Unsure | ||||||
15–21 August 2023 | EMRS [64] | 42% | 39% | 18% | ||||
15–19 May 2023 | EMRS [65] | 38% | 40% | 18% | ||||
14–19 February 2023 | EMRS [66] | 44% | 36% | 17% | ||||
8–15 November 2022 | EMRS [67] | 46% | 34% | 18% | ||||
8–11 August 2022 | EMRS | 47% | 35% | 16% | ||||
27 May – 2 June 2022 | EMRS | 47% | 34% | 18% | ||||
Jeremy Rockliff replaces Peter Gutwein as Premier and Liberal leader | ||||||||
Date | Firm | Party leaders | ||||||
Gutwein | White | Unsure | ||||||
28 February – 1 March 2022 | EMRS | 52% | 33% | 14% | ||||
28 November – 5 December 2021 | EMRS | 59% | 29% | 12% | ||||
7–9 August 2021 | EMRS | 59% | 28% | 11% |
Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | 127,837 | 36.67 | 12.05 | 14 | 1 | |
Labor | 101,113 | 29.00 | 0.80 | 10 | 1 | |
Greens | 48,430 | 13.89 | 1.51 | 5 | 3 | |
Lambie Network | 23,260 | 6.67 | 6.67 | 3 | 3 | |
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers | 8,126 | 2.33 | 0.71 | 0 | ||
Animal Justice | 5,283 | 1.52 | 0.11 | 0 | ||
Local Network | 1,028 | 0.29 | 0.29 | 0 | ||
Independents | 33,535 | 9.62 | 3.40 | 3 | 2 | |
Total | 348,612 | 100.00 | – | 35 | 10 | |
Valid votes | 348,612 | 93.69 | ||||
Invalid/blank votes | 23,465 | 6.31 | 1.18 | |||
Total votes | 372,077 | 100.00 | – | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 408,197 | 91.15 | 1.24 | |||
Source: TEC, ABC |
Bass | Braddon | Clark | Franklin | Lyons | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Party | 38.0% | 45.6% | 27.1% | 34.0% | 37.6% |
Labor Party | 29.8% | 24.7% | 30.5% | 27.3% | 32.8% |
Greens | 12.0% | 6.6% | 20.9% | 19.8% | 10.9% |
Lambie | 8.1% | 11.4% | N/A | 4.9% | 8.3% |
Other | 12.0% | 11.7% | 21.6% | 14.0% | 10.4% |
The day after the election, Labor conceded and its leader Rebecca White stated the party was not in a position to form a minority government, causing a leadership election to be held under the party's constitution. [5] Rockliff reportedly began discussions with elected independents and Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) candidates to form a Liberal minority government. [5] On 10 April, the Liberal Party and Jacqui Lambie Network announced an agreement had been reached for the latter to provide confidence and supply to the government. [6] The second Rockliff ministry was sworn in by Governor Barbara Baker the following day, [7] as Rockliff revealed independent MP David O'Byrne had provided a written assurance of confidence and supply votes in parliament, thereby enabling the re-elected government to take office. [8] Letters of confidence and supply assurances were signed by O'Byrne and another independent MP, Kristie Johnston, and were released to the public on 24 April 2024. [9] This gave the Liberal government 19 votes out of 35 in parliament to govern.
The JLN-Liberal arrangement lasted in its original form for only four months, as two of the JLN MPs, Rebekah Pentland and Miriam Beswick, were expelled from the party by party leader Jacqui Lambie, who alleged the two MPs no longer represented the "values of accountability, transparency and integrity". [73] Both Pentland and Beswick stated they intended to remain in parliament as independents and later signed a new confidence and supply agreement with the government. [74] [75]
On 16 September 2024, the sole remaining member of the JLN in parliament, Andrew Jenner, confirmed he was not signing a confidence and supply deal with the Liberal government after the last one fell through. [76]
Eric Abetz is an Australian politician. He was a Senator for Tasmania from 1994 to 2022, representing the Liberal Party, and since March 2024 has been a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the Franklin electorate.
Michael Darrel Joseph Ferguson is an Australian politician who served as the Deputy Premier of Tasmania from April 2022 to October 2024. 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.
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 a former Australian politician and diplomat. He was the premier of Tasmania from 2014 to 2020 and state leader of the Liberal Party from 2006 to 2020. He later served as High Commissioner of Australia to Singapore from 2021 to 2023.
Jeremy Page Rockliff is an Australian politician. He has served as premier of Tasmania since 2022, as state leader of the Liberal Party. He previously served as deputy premier from 2014 to 2022.
Peter Carl Gutwein is a former 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.
David O'Byrne is an Australian trade unionist and politician. A prominent union leader prior to entering politics and the brother of fellow politician Michelle O'Byrne, he has been an Independent member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly since 2024, after previously serving as a Labor Party member from 2018 to 2024, and from 2010 to 2014, representing the electorate of Franklin.
The 2010 Tasmanian state election was held on 20 March 2010 to elect members to the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The 12-year incumbent Labor government, led by Premier of Tasmania David Bartlett, won a fourth consecutive term against the Liberal opposition, led by Will Hodgman, after Labor formed a minority government with the support of the Greens.
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.
Jacquiline Louise Lambie is an Australian politician who is the leader and founder of the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN). She is a Senator for Tasmania since 2019, and was previously a Senator from 2014 to 2017.
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 a minister in the Second Rockliff ministry
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. Hickey is currently Mayor of the City of Glenorchy.
The Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) is a political party in Australia, formed in May 2015, bearing the name of its founder, Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie.
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 one of three Coalition affiliate governments above the state 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.
Kristie Joy Johnston is an Australian politician. She was elected as the Mayor of City of Glenorchy in 2014 and 2018 and is an Independent member for the seat of Division of Clark, having been elected in the 2021 Tasmanian state election.
Following the results of the 2024 Tasmanian state election, which resulted in a hung parliament with the Liberal Party winning the most seats, the incumbent Liberal government, led by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, will negotiate with independents and the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) to seek confidence and supply to form a minority government for the party's fourth consecutive term in office.
The next Tasmanian state election will be held no later than 3 June 2028, to elect all 35 seats in the House of Assembly. The election will be conducted by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission (TEC).