Tasmania government teeters on brink of early election as Jeremy Rockliff, Dean Winter face off
Parliament will today meet to pass emergency legislation so the government can continue to pay its bills — including public sector salaries — as the state teeters on the brink of an early election.
Tasmania
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Parliament will today meet to pass emergency legislation so the government can continue to pay its bills — including public sector salaries — as the state teeters on the brink of an early election.
Budget estimates committee hearings scheduled over four days of this week have been derailed by a no-confidence motion against Premier Jeremy Rockliff.
A marathon meeting of Cabinet on the King’s Birthday public holiday cleared the decks for an election if an alternative can’t be found to the current deadlock.
Mr Rockliff has not resigned in the wake of the vote of no-confidence in his leadership, the Liberals have nominated no alternative leader and Opposition leader Dean Winter has ruled out forming government with the support of the Greens.
Mr Rockliff is expected to visit Governor Barbara Baker once the budget bills have passed to ask her to call an election almost three years early.
Labor leader Dean Winter said his party was ready for whatever outcome Tuesday brings.
“There’s only one reason we’re going to an election — that’s because Jeremy Rockliff lost control of the House, he lost the confidence of the House and now he’s forcing Tasmanians to an election,” he said.
“If he calls one, we’ll be ready, because we know Tasmania needs change.
“If Jeremy Rockliff calls an early election just 16 months after he did last time, this will be an election about three things.
“It’ll be about the broken budget, it’ll be about Jeremy Rockliff’s plans to privatise assets to pay down the debt, it’ll be about his component of the debacle with the spirits of Tasmania fiasco.
“You cannot trust the Premier who oversaw the biggest infrastructure stuff-up in Tasmanian history. How could you?
“You cannot trust a Premier who says that he believes in privatisation and then as soon as he’s going to an election, he says that he doesn’t. He can’t be trusted.”
Mr Winter said Labor would bring the Spirit of Tasmania ferries to Tasmania as soon as possible if he was Premier.
But Liberal minister Felix Ellis said it was Mr Winter’s fault if voters were forced back to the polls.
“Dean Winter’s selfish actions over the course of the last week have put so much at risk for so many Tasmanians,” he said.
“Chief among those is the fact that with his actions, there was a strong potential that our frontline workers and public servants wouldn’t get paid.
“Now we’re having to go back into parliament to pass an emergency supply bill to fix Mr Winter’s mess.
“But one of the most galling things about that is that he has put his own self interest first.
“This is a bloke who didn’t rule out whether we should have a pay rise for politicians, but put at risk pay for public servants and frontline workers.
“We know that he’s on his L-plates and he’s just crashed his hatchback. The people who are in the instructor’s seat, of course are the faceless men and women of the Labor Party who have put Labor into administration.”
Mr Winter has ruled out supporting the pay rise for MPs recommended by the Tasmanian Industrial Commission last week.
Greens deputy leader Vica Bayley said an election was avoidable.
“There is still time for Jeremy Rockliff and Dean Winter to walk the Tasmanian people back from the precipice of another election,” he said.
“Jeremy Rockliff can resign and allow one of his colleagues to test support.
“And of course, Dean Winter can pick up the phone and talk to Dr Rosalie Woodruff, the leader of the Greens, who has written an offer of confidence and supply.
“So 24 hours is a long time in politics.
“We’ve got a bit less than that now before we end up in parliament, but it’s certainly more than that before the Premier says he’s going to go to Government House, there’s absolutely time.”
Originally published as Tasmania government teeters on brink of early election as Jeremy Rockliff, Dean Winter face off
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