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3 of the 15 seats in the Legislative Council 8 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||
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The 2025 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election is scheduled to be held on 3 May 2025 to elect three members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council. [1] The seats of Montgomery, Nelson and Pembroke will be up for election. [2]
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. [3] 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. [3]
The Legislative Council has 15 seats, with members elected to a six-year term. [4] 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. [3] [4]
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. [5] [6] As of 2024, the chamber has a plurality of independents, although it has previously had an outright independent majority. [7] [8]
Legislative Council elections use partial preferential voting and the Robson Rotation. [9] 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. [10] [11]
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Electoral division of Montgomery in the Tasmanian Legislative Council | |||||||||||||
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Montgomery is located on Tasmania's north-west coast, covering the Central Coast Council and the south-eastern suburbs of Burnie. [12] [13] The seat has been held by Liberal Party member Leonie Hiscutt since 2013, when she succeeded retiring independent incumbent Sue Smith, and she was re-elected in 2019 with 60.17% of the two-party-preferred vote. [14] [15]
On 16 May 2024, Hiscutt announced that she would not seek re-election in 2025. [16] [17] Her son, Central Coast councillor Casey Hiscutt, announced on the same day that he would contest Montgomery as an independent with her endorsement. [18] [19] Former senator Stephen Parry, who served as the President of the Senate from 2014 until 2017, was announced on 15 June 2024 as the Liberal candidate. [20] [21]
| Party | Candidate | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Stephen Parry | Former senator for Tasmania | |
| Independent | Casey Hiscutt | Central Coast councillor | |
| Tasmanians Now | Gatty Burnett | Candidate for Murchison in 2023 [22] [23] | |
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Electoral division of Nelson in the Tasmanian Legislative Council | |||||||||||||
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Nelson is located in the Tasmanian capital of Hobart and includes parts of the Hobart and Kingborough municipal areas. [12] [24] The seat has been held by independent member Meg Webb since 2019, when she succeeded retiring independent incumbent Jim Wilkinson. [25] [26]
Webb announced in 2024 that she would seek re-election. [27] On 23 June 2024, the Liberal Party announced that butcher Marcus Vermey would be its candidate. [28] [29]
| Party | Candidate | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Meg Webb | MLC for Nelson since 2019 | |
| Liberal | Marcus Vermey | Butcher and candidate for Clark at 2024 state election | |
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Electoral division of Pembroke in the Tasmanian Legislative Council | |||||||||||||
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Pembroke is located in Hobart and covers the Clarence municipal area. [12] [30] The seat has been held by Labor Party member Luke Edmunds since a by-election in 2022, which he won with 63.26% of the two-party-preferred vote. [31] [32]
On 2 November 2024, Edmunds was re-endorsed by Labor for the 2025 election. [33] The Greens have expressed interest in contesting the seat. [34]
| Party | Candidate | Background | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Luke Edmunds | MLC for Pembroke since 2022 [35] | |
The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. Members of the Legislative Council are often referred to as MLCs.
The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the governor of Tasmania, the Legislative Council, and the House of Assembly. Since 1841, the Legislative Council has met in Parliament House, Hobart, with the House of Assembly following suit from its establishment in 1856. The Parliament of Tasmania first met in 1856.
The electoral division of Montgomery is one of the fifteen electorates in the Tasmanian Legislative Council.
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 Denison which was renamed to Clark in September 2018. Since the 2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election, she has represented the electorate of Hobart. O'Connor was the first female Greens minister in Australia, serving in the Giddings ministry intermittently from 2011-14. In 2015, she became leader of the Tasmanian Greens following the resignation of Kim Booth.
Vanessa Goodwin was an Australian politician. She was the Liberal Party member for the seat of Pembroke in the Tasmanian Legislative Council from the Pembroke by-election on 1 August 2009 until her resignation due to brain cancer on 2 October 2017.
Teunis "Tony" Mulder is an Australian politician. He was an independent member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council, representing the electoral division of Rumney from 2011 to 2017. Mulder is currently serving as a councillor on the Clarence City Council since 2018, having previously served as an alderman from 2005 to 2011.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 7 May 2011. The three seats up for election were Launceston, held by retiring independent MLC Don Wing; Murchison, held by independent MLC Ruth Forrest; and Rumney, held by Labor MLC Lin Thorp. These seats were last contested in 2005.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 2 May 2009. The three seats up for election were Derwent, held by Labor MLC Michael Aird; Mersey, held by retiring independent MLC Norma Jamieson; and Windermere, held by independent MLC Ivan Dean. These seats were last contested in 2003.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 3 May 2008. The two seats up for election were Huon, held by independent MLC Paul Harriss, and Rosevears, held by independent MLC Kerry Finch. These seats were last contested in 2002.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 6 May 2007. The three seats up for election were Montgomery, held by independent MLC Sue Smith; Nelson, held by independent MLC Jim Wilkinson; and Pembroke, held by Labor MLC Allison Ritchie. Montgomery was last contested in 2002, while Nelson and Pembroke were last contested in 2001.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 6 May 2006. The two seats up for election were Rowallan, held by independent MLC Greg Hall, and Wellington, held by Labor MLC Doug Parkinson. Rowallan was last contested in 2001, while Wellington was last contested in 2000.
Leonie Anne Hiscutt is an Australian politician, who has been a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council for the division of Montgomery since 2013.
This is a list of members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council between 2017 and 2023. Terms of the Legislative Council did not coincide with Legislative Assembly elections, and members served six year terms, with a number of members facing election each year.
Joanna Clare Siejka is an Australian politician and not-for-profit leader.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 4 May 2019. The three seats up for election were Montgomery, Nelson and Pembroke. Montgomery and Nelson were previously contested in 2013. Pembroke was won by the Labor Party in a 2017 by-election, following the resignation of the sitting member, Vanessa Goodwin of the Liberal Party.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 1 August 2020. They were initially planned for 30 May; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the electoral commission delayed the date of the election until August, in anticipation for the next Legislative Council sitting date on 25 August.
Periodic elections for the Tasmanian Legislative Council were held on 7 May 2022. Two seats were up for a regularly scheduled vote; Elwick and McIntyre. Simultaneously a by-election was held in the seat of Huon, following the resignation of the incumbent member Bastian Seidel.
Luke Matthew Edmunds is an Australian politician who currently serves as the member for Pembroke in the Tasmanian Legislative Council. He was elected at a by-election in 2022 and is a member of the Labor Party.
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.
This is a list of members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council between 2023 and 2029. Terms of the Legislative Council did not coincide with Legislative Assembly elections, and members served six year terms, with a number of members facing election each year.
