Independent Braddon MP Craig Garland rules out providing confidence and supply to Liberals

A popular independent MP has delivered a blow to Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s hopes of forming a minority government, saying he won’t provide the Liberals with confidence and supply.

Independent member for Braddon, Craig Garland. Picture: Patrick Gee.

A key crossbencher has delivered a blow to Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s hopes of returning to power as the election count draws to a close and neither major party appears certain of forming a minority government.

Independent Braddon MP Craig Garland announced on Friday morning that he will not provide confidence and supply to the Liberal Party.

A key crossbencher in the new parliament, Mr Garland said he would now only be negotiating with Opposition Leader Dean Winter and the Labor Party.

Craig Garland, independent member for Braddon. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Eighteen votes are needed on the floor of the lower house in order to govern and with the Liberals only having 14 confirmed seats with the election count still ongoing, they would require the support of four crossbenchers.

Labor, meanwhile, has just 10 seats and would therefore need confidence and supply from eight crossbenchers, including the five Greens MPs.

Mr Garland said he had contacted Mr Rockliff on Friday morning to inform him he would not be giving the Liberals confidence and supply, citing the government’s handling of the Marinus Link project as a clinching factor in his decision.

“I will not waste my time or Mr Rockliff’s by entering into any formal negotiations with him, which is why I called him this morning to tell him as much. I also believe it is important to be upfront with the Tasmanian people about this,” he said.

“At this stage, I believe the only party capable of delivering stable and responsible government is the Labor Party. I look forward to continuing discussions with Mr Winter.”

The Braddon independent has also said he would support another no-confidence motion in Mr Rockliff’s leadership if such a motion was moved when parliament resumed.

The Premier said he had “staked my leadership on key projects”, including Marinus Link, and stressed that he had never asked for confidence and supply from independents.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff. Picture: Caroline Tan

“What I have put out there is a stability agreement, a draft agreement to be co-developed by crossbenchers such as Craig, to provide stability to the Tasmanian parliament,” he said.

“I’ll say this to the crossbench: Dean Winter as Opposition Leader, with all the people that were willing to hold his hand over the course of the last week, if he cannot make a decision as Opposition Leader to support the project [Marinus Link] that will deliver so much benefit to the Tasmanian people, how the hell is he going to make a decision as Premier of Tasmania?”

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr Winter said Tasmanians “want to see a government that’s open and transparent” and that the crossbench needed to understand “what sort of government they’re signing up to support”.

“Ultimately, Jeremy Rockliff has won the most seats of this election, and he’s got the first opportunity to form a government,” he said.

“It’s been almost two weeks since election day, so Tasmanians are wondering how those negotiations are going, and I think it’s probably time that Jeremy Rockliff provided that update.”

Labor leader Dean Winter.

Labor has ruled out doing a deal with the Greens to form government but its path to power is reliant on supply and confidence from the minor party, while the Liberals can potentially govern with support from just a handful of independent MPs.

Deputy Greens leader Vica Bayley said his party wanted to “change the government and we want the Greens to be in a position to make positive influence in Tasmania”.

He called on Mr Winter to “step up” and “have the conversations with the crossbench and the Greens about what that new future looks like, what a new government looks like”.

Independent Clark MP Kristie Johnston said she had spoken to Mr Rockliff earlier in the week and had a discussion with Mr Winter on Friday morning.

Unlike Mr Garland, she has not yet ruled out offering confidence and supply to Mr Rockliff, but neither has she ruled out supporting a second potential no-confidence motion in the Premier.

“Both Liberal and Labor parties have essentially the same party and policy platforms. What will hopefully be different is a change in attitude to working in a power-sharing arrangement where there is genuine collaboration and a recognition of the need to understand the issues and to work through those issues in a proper power-sharing arrangement,” she said.

On Monday, Ms Johnston will be briefed by Treasury on the state of Tasmania’s finances, which she said was necessary in order for her to make an “informed decision” on who to support in the new parliament, which is not likely to sit until September.

The Clark MP said she would not be seeking a ministry or the speakership in her negotiations with either leader.

Newly elected Franklin independent Peter George on Friday had his second conversation with Mr Rockliff since the election, saying he “made it clear” that his support for a minority government would be “contingent on progress on issues that are of concern to Franklin voters”.

These included an end to the expansion of salmon farming in the state’s waterways and an “eventual transition out of our island waters”, abandoning the Macquarie Point stadium project, integrity and transparency reforms, and a “phased” cessation of native forest logging.

Originally published as Independent Braddon MP Craig Garland rules out providing confidence and supply to Liberals