Governor says ‘no’ – for now – to Tasmanian election

Tasmania’s Governor has refused to automatically approve an early election and will instead take days to ‘consider all options’.

Jeremy Rockliff and Dean Winter, heading into an early election.

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Tasmania’s Governor has refused to automatically approve an early election and will instead take days to “consider all options”, continuing the state’s power vacuum.

Outgoing Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff spent about 40 minutes at Government House on Tuesday night to request an early election, after his Liberal colleagues decided against replacing him as leader to avoid the poll.

However, Governor Barbara Baker has opted not to immediately agree to the request and will instead consider her options in coming days.

“Following their conversation, Her Excellency is now taking the time necessary to give due consideration to all available options,” Ms Baker’s official secretary David Hughes said.

“By the end of the week the Premier will meet with Her Excellency again. Further statements will be made in due course.”

Mr Rockliff said he respected Ms Baker’s position, which while continuing the state’s political limbo for a second week, is within her constitutional powers.

“I respect the need for Her Excellency to take the appropriate time to consider important matters of state,” he said, in a statement. “I remain committed to serving the people of Tasmania.”

Premier Jeremy Rockliff arriving at Government House in Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

It is unclear whether Ms Baker will require any further steps from Mr Rockliff before accepting that there is no alternative premier within his ranks, such as directing him to call another partyroom meeting.

She may ask Labor leader Dean Winter to test his support on the floor of the Assembly, but Mr Winter – with just 10 seats out of 35 – has ruled out governing in minority with Greens support.

Mr Rockliff’s election request followed the House of Assembly last week voting no confidence in him as premier, citing alleged budget mismanagement, infrastructure bungling and privatisation plans.

Despite some discussions within the Liberal Party over the long weekend, Liberal MPs decided not to replace Mr Rockliff as leader, leaving an election call as the only remaining option.

A special sitting of state parliament on Tuesday passed emergency $4.5bn supply bills to ensure public servants are paid and services maintained during any election.

In what Labor labelled “one last stuff up” by Mr Rockliff, the House of Assembly had to reconvene a second time on Tuesday to fix an error in the bills – a funding amount for the Premier’s department.

With the bills finally passing both houses late on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Rockliff then visited Ms Baker to seek a snap election, arriving and leaving Government House, in Hobart, without speaking to gathered journalists.

Liberal MPs ‘bunch of lemmings’: Labor

The Australian understands senior minister Eric Abetz and former treasurer Michael Ferguson were both willing to assume the leadership to avoid the second election within 16 months.

However, sources suggested neither was willing to force a spill, fearing it would destabilise the party, while Mr Rockliff ignored pleas from sections of the party and the business community to resign voluntarily.

Some within the Liberal Party described this as a “Mexican standoff” leading the party and the state into an early election no one wants, and at which the party is expected to lose seats.

Some within the party believe it would be better to avoid an election and continue to govern with a new leader.

They argue the party, in power since 2014, could then “gets some runs on the board” in terms of key projects, such as the new Bass Strait ferries and the Hobart AFL stadium, to blunt Labor claims it has “bungled” infrastructure.

While no MP was as of Tuesday willing to force a spill in the leadership, this could change, given Governor Baker’s refusal to immediately call an election.

Labor treasury spokesman Josh Willie described Liberals MPs as “a bunch of lemmings” but said Labor was ready to contest an election. “Bring it on,” he said.

The party would urge voters to punish the minority Liberal government for taking state debt to $11bn, bungling a vital ferry port project and flirting with asset sales.

“This Premier wants to sell our future – we are not going to let him do it,” Mr Willie said. “How do you spend $1bn on two new ships and forget to build a port?”

Leaked texts

Mr Rockliff and his team have foreshadowed a campaign focus on Labor as “wreckers” for moving the no confidence motion, which passed with Greens and crossbench support, while jettisoning the party’s privatisation push.

The Liberals released text messages from a Labor staffer they said showed Mr Winter’s motivation in moving the motion last week was a “power grab”.

In the message, a Labor staffer says deposing Mr Rockliff as Liberal leader would make it “easier for us to win the next election”.

Liberal minister Felix Ellis said the messages “are proof that the only person Dean Winter cares about is himself … the only job he cares about is Jeremy Rockliff’s”.

The last election, on March 23, 2024, gave the Liberals 14 seats in the 35-seat Assembly, Labor 10, the Greens 5. There are five independents and one Jacqui Lambie Network MP.

The latest opinion poll, by EMRS in May, showed Labor ahead of the Liberals 31 per cent to 29 per cent, with independents on 17 per cent, the Greens 14 per cent, and JLN 6 per cent.