Call me if you want to be Premier, Greens leader tells Winter
With no party securing a majority in Tasmania's parliament, the Greens have challenged Labor to break its “no deals” stance and negotiate.
Tasmania
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tasmania. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff has called on Labor leader Dean Winter to pick up the phone and have a mature conversation if he wants to become Tasmania’s next premier.
Speaking to reporters in Hobart, Dr Woodruff said it was clear that Tasmanians had voted for a change by electing a progressive parliament at the July 19 election.
Vote counting is continuing, but the Liberals look set to take 14 seats; Labor 10 and the Greens, 5, with the remainder of the 35 seats in the House of Assembly likely to be filled by independents and minor party candidates.
Ms Woodruff said she was waiting to talk to Mr Winter in person.
“We’ve played phone tag. We haven’t had a conversation. The intention is that we will catch up,” she said.
“The progressive independents got a big increase in their votes. It’s pretty clear that Tasmanians want change.
“We have this progressive group of people in Tasmania. We are on the face of it, all travelling in the same direction, and we all want to bring about change for Tasmania.
“This is a great opportunity for this to happen.
“It’s up to all of us to have conversations as adults and to work together on the incredibly serious issues confronting Tasmania.”
“We’ve got soaring debt, we’ve got a terrible housing crisis, we’ve got threats of sacking public servants, and we’ve got an environment and marine environment on its knees, we have to do things differently.
“It’s simply not good enough for Labor to imagine that they could have a stable form of government without coming and having a genuine conversation with the Greens, the other people on the crossbench about what that’s going to look like, what the form it’s going to be in, and how it could work, and those are the sorts of things written down or not that we need to have a conversation about.”
Mr Winter said he would not do a deal with the Greens and would let Premier Jeremy Rockliff have the first chance, but Labor was ready to form government if that didn’t come to pass.
“I’m not asking the crossbench to change their values and I’m telling you I’m not going to change my values or compromise on the things I believe in,” Mr Winter said.
“I support forestry, mining and aquaculture. They’re things that are important to the Labor movement … I’m saying we need to work together across this parliament.
“It’s down to Jeremy Rockliff to outline how he gets to 18 seats.
“He’s got the first opportunity and I’m allowing him to do that in the event that Jeremy Rockliff can’t reach 18 seats, Tasmanians don’t want another early election, Labor stands ready to form government.”
Three independents key to the fate of the Liberals yesterday heavily criticised the governing party, particularly over its handling of the Marinus Link project.
Craig Garland suspended all talks with the government, until it answers his questions on the issue.
Independent Peter George said the current political climate was undermining his goodwill towards the Liberals — but his final about be determined by the state’s best interests.
“It’s going to be very hard to do any sort to come to any sort of agreement with a Liberal government that clearly has no respect for independents and clearly has no idea on the way that minority government can work well all around the world,” he said.
“There are attack ads all over social media, which are designed to bring stress and pressure to bear on the independents.
“Former ministers are going about trashing our reputations, calling us radicals.”
Newly-elected Liberal MP Bridget Archer said she was concerned Labor and the Greens might get together to form government.
“We’ve heard on radio this morning the strongest indication yet from Rosalie Woodruff that she is indeed in discussions with Dean Winter about Labor doing a deal with the Greens to form government here in Tasmania, despite Dean Winter having the worst result for Labor in 130 years at this election and repeatedly saying that he will not do deals with the Greens,” she said.
“We think it is incumbent on Dean Winter to come out and to rule that out once and for all, and to say that he is not going to accept confidence and supply from the Greens to form government.”
Originally published as Call me if you want to be Premier, Greens leader tells Winter
State of play as crucial race for last lower house seats heats up
Several seats remain on a knife-edge as vote counting continues in Tasmania's state election, with some candidates separated by fewer than 100 votes.
Police allegedly attacked as dangerous dog unleashed
A 57-year-old woman is facing a raft of charges after she allegedly assaulted police and released a dangerous dog following failed negotiations with officers.