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Tasmania will once again have a hung parliament, with the Liberal Party yet to form a majority government after Saturday’s election.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff claimed victory just after 1 p.m. 10pm and said it was a ‘historic fourth consecutive victory’ for the party.
“Let’s be clear, the Liberal team has clearly won the most votes in this election and the most seats by a wide margin,” he said.
‘Labour does not have enough seats to form a cabinet let alone a government…Tasmanians have not voted for a change of government.’
Initial results show a 12 per cent swing towards the Liberal Party, with the majority of votes going to the Jacqui Lambie Network rather than Labour.
The Jacqui Lambie Network looks set to emerge as the kingmaker, with the party expected to win up to four seats.
The Labor leader, Rebecca White, did not concede defeat, saying the party would work with the cross table “if that is the will of the people”.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff, pictured with his mother Gerry, called a snap election last month to try to secure a majority for the Liberals
“Tasmanians have humiliated a prime minister who called an early election and expected to be returned with a majority,” she said.
There is much that is unclear tonight, but it is clear that Tasmanians have voted to reject the Liberals.
‘Whether we get the chance to implement our agenda will depend on how things play out over the next few weeks. But tonight it is clear that Tasmanian society has rejected the past and wants change.’
Sir. Rockliff called the snap election last month to try to secure a majority for the Liberals.
The left appeared to have at least 15 seats, just short of the 18 needed for a majority in the newly expanded 35-seat parliament.
As of 10pm on Saturday, Liberals are expected to take 15 seats, Labor 10, Greens 5, Jacquie Lambie Network 4 and an independent.
Labor leader Rebecca White, pictured with her daughter Mia, 7, cast her vote
The Jacquie Lambie network, formed by the senator, will be in the best position to help form the next government.
She refused to be drawn on whether she would support the Liberals, said the decision would be ‘up to my candidates’ and suggested they could ‘stay out of the rubble’.
“Jeremy Rockliff could have fixed a few things yesterday but he didn’t,” she said on Sky News about an alleged fake website attacking her party.
‘They haven’t played this game very well. The Liberals have been shocking, utterly disgraceful’.
Initial results show a 12.6 per cent swing towards the Liberal Party, with the majority of votes going to the Jacquie Lambie Network – led by Jacquie Lambie (pictured) – and not Labor
Former federal Liberal senator turned Tasmanian state candidate Eric Abetz, who has won a seat, said he believed the early numbers showed voters were turning to the Jacqui Lambie Network as a “protest vote”.
“What the Jacqui Lambie network has done, I think, has become a protest movement, if these early numbers are any indication,” he told the ABC.
‘The vote has not moved from Liberal to Labor but to a halfway house in the Jacqui Lambie Network where there is a sense that this is a bit of a protest vote.’
More than 400,000 Tasmanians voted for 167 candidates in the 35-seat parliamentary election. Under the Hare-Clarke system, seven MPs will be elected in each of the state’s five electorates.
A Labor victory would have meant Australia no longer has a Liberal government in any state.
The Liberals have been in minority government since May 2023, when two MPs – John Tucker and Lara Alexander – left the party to sit cross-bench.
The pair had an agreement with Mr Rockliff to guarantee his government’s supply and confidence ahead of the election.
But the prime minister wanted a tighter deal after they backed opposition proposals and criticized his government, including by sending minister Guy Barnett to the privileges committee.
He has refused to discuss who he would negotiate with if a hung parliament were the result of Saturday’s election.
Sir. Rockliff this week reiterated the need for Tasmania to have a majority government.
“What I’m talking about is majority government. Tasmania does better with a majority government, especially a Liberal majority government, Mr Rockliff said this week.
LAMBIE EFFECT
A team of candidates running under the Jacqui Lambie Network could decide who ends up in government.
The Jacquie Lambie Network, formed by the senator (pictured), will be in the best position to help form the next government.
A poll obtained by Sky News Australia indicates her party could be the kingmaker after the election.
But the outspoken senator for Tasmania, who has campaigned with the team, said the state’s Liberal Party had bought a website domain to create a fake website attacking her party.
“They’ve obviously set up a page and by doing that they’ve used my face, my name and directed and sent 7000 text messages out there from an unknown candidate in the Liberal Party who had no idea,” she told Sky News Australia Chief Anchor Kieran Gilbert Thursday.
Senator Lambie said it was up to her candidates to decide who they would support in the event of a hung parliament.
“These candidates are going to have to make their own decisions at that table … I’m happy to sit there and guide them, but I have to hold that step back,” she said.
“I have to find that very fine line because I need these guys to grow as quickly as possible.”
Opposition federal environment spokesman Jonathon Duniam said on Friday the Jacqui Lambie Network had the potential to wreak ‘chaos’ at Saturday’s election.
“The thing about the Jacqui Lambie Network is that it’s a collection of individuals who have different views on different issues, which I think is a big part of the problem,” Senator Duniam told Sky News.
‘People have been talking about this coalition of chaos and it’s something Tasmanians know all too well to avoid at the polls.
‘My strong and fervent hope is a liberal majority government.’
THE KEY ISSUES
The cost of living crisis has been a key factor in the election, with both leaders asked about their plans to tackle the problem.
Sir. Mr Rockliff said the Government’s policies included a one-off renewable energy dividend of $250 for Tasmanian households and $300 for small businesses, as well as a cut to the state’s public transport charges.
He also said the Liberals would invest in children and learning centers by introducing four more across the state to support families.
Labor leader Rebecca White said cost of living was the ‘number one issue’ in the state and also focused on funding childcare through a $75 million investment in the sector.
Meanwhile, the contentious AFL stadium was another dominant issue, with the launch of the Tasmanian Devils AFL franchise on Monday. None of the leaders attended.
A contentious plan for an AFL stadium in Hobart was a dominant issue in the election with the launch of the Tasmanian Devils AFL franchise on Monday (pictured). None of the leaders attended
Many do not want a new $750m stadium built in Hobart, but support having a team in the AFL.
Sir. Rockliff has pledged to limit the state’s contribution to the stadium to $375 million, saying “not one more red cent”.
“We can have both in Tasmania, we can secure our own AFL team and invest in the areas that I know Tasmanians care about … cost of living, health,” he said.
Ms White has said she wanted Tasmanians to have their own team, but that did not mean the state needed a new stadium.
‘I have been aware that it is not our priority to put taxpayers’ money into such a project when we have people who do not have access to health care.’
The stadium, to be built on Hobart’s waterfront, is expected to cost up to $1 billion.
Sir. Rockliff said only his government could be guaranteed to go ahead with construction of the stadium, a key condition for the AFL’s decision to grant Tasmania the license for a professional team.
‘The Tassie team is at risk and Tasmanians cannot afford that risk and for the Tassie team and the Tassie Devils, Tasmanians must vote 1 to 7 for their Liberal candidates tomorrow.’
THE HARE-CLARKE SYSTEM
A record 408,197 Tasmanians will vote for 167 candidates in the state’s five seats of Bass, Braddon, Clark, Franklin and Lyons
Seven MPs from each seat will be elected under a quota system, meaning a total of 35 MPs will be elected. But the full results are unlikely to be known on Saturday evening,
Parliament has been expanded to 35 after being reduced to 25 in 1998.
An increase in the number of members from five to seven lowers the quota for elections from 16.7 percent to 12.5 percent.
This lower quota could lead to a larger cross-bench, giving smaller parties like the Jacqui Lambie Network a shot at holding the balance of power,
Voters must mark their ballots 1 to 7.
A total of 35 MPs will be elected in the next parliament (pictured) in Saturday’s election
Registered parties and groups are shown in ballot order, with ungrouped candidates in the last column.
Candidates are listed in alphabetical order within each column, but the names in each column of the ballot are rotated and may not appear in that order.
Sir. Rockliff is expected to comfortably win a seat in the North West constituency of Braddon.
Likewise, Ms White will win in Lyons, one of the Hobart-based seats.
Former Liberal senator and minister Eric Abetz is running for the party in Franklin. He is expected to win a seat.
According to the Tasmanian Electoral Commission, almost 90,000 Tasmanians have voted early, either at an early voting centre, by postal vote or by telephone.
The state’s 255 polling stations are open between 8.00 and 18.00 on Saturday.
Counting starts at 18.00 with the first results expected around 18.45, the commission said.
“It is expected that counting will take longer for this election,” it said.
‘This is due to an increase in the number of candidates and the number of columns on ballot papers, as well as the new requirement that each ballot paper must have at least seven preferences marked, compared to five in 2021.’
Counting stops at 23 on Saturday.