Labor accuses independent Clark MP Kristie Johnston of threatening to ‘blow up the government’
The Opposition has criticised an independent MP for publicly declaring she had lost confidence in the minority Liberal government.
Tasmania
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Labor has accused independent MP Kristie Johnston of threatening to “blow up the government”, after she publicly declared she no longer had confidence in Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s administration.
Opposition MP Josh Willie said there were “other mechanisms” at parliamentarians’ disposal to achieve good outcomes and hold the minority Liberal government and warned Ms Johnston against withdrawing confidence and supply.
“I don’t think there’s the political maturity for minority government to often work [in Tasmania] and we’ve seen that play out now with the crossbench,” Mr Willie said.
“We had an election less than 12 months ago and these sorts of statements from people like Kristie Johnston are harming the economy, they’re harming business confidence. And there are other mechanisms rather than blowing up the government.”
Mr Willie’s comments suggest Labor won’t move a no-confidence motion in the government when parliament returns on Tuesday.
The Liberals have 14 members in the lower house, with a total of 18 votes required to pass legislation.
They have confidence and supply agreements with independent MPs David O’Byrne, Rebekah Pentland, Miriam Beswick, and Ms Johnston, as well as the Jacqui Lambie Network’s Andrew Jenner.
Mr Jenner and Ms Johnston have both denounced the government over its decision to abandon a planned review of the state’s Integrity Commission, while independent Braddon MP Craig Garland has indicated he is now willing to vote against future budget bills.
If the Liberals were to lose the guarantees of confidence and supply from at least two of the crossbenchers with whom they have conditional agreements, they would effectively lose control of the lower house.
Ms Johnston said on Sunday that she was seeking an “urgent meeting” with the Premier “to discuss my concerns and to hear whether he intends to change the way he is governing so I, the parliament, and the Tasmanian people can be sure he is governing in their interests”.
The independent Clark MP has also criticised the government for its “dismissal” of Dr Nicholas Gruen’s report on the proposed Macquarie Point stadium and its “cavalier” response to economist Saul Eslake’s report on the state of Tasmania’s public finances.
Deputy Premier Guy Barnett told reporters on Sunday that the government’s relationships with the crossbenchers were “positive”.
“The Premier … has always been positive and constructive, collaborating with all of the independents on the crossbench, including the independent member for Clark,” he said.
“I think Tasmanians expect us to deliver the best possible outcomes for our state, and in the parliament they want us to work cooperatively and collaboratively together – and that’s our intention, that’s the plan, and we look forward to delivering on that.”
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