Greens rocked by loss of Tasmanian leader Kim Booth

The Tasmanian Greens are reeling after state leader Kim Booth yesterday unexpectedly quit state parliament.

The Tasmanian Greens are reeling, having suffered the loss of a second senior party figure within as many weeks, with state leader Kim Booth unexpectedly quitting state parliament yesterday.

Mr Booth’s decision, which ­appeared to catch the party by surprise, comes as immediate past leader Nick McKim pursues a shift to federal politics to fill the Senate seat to be vacated by former federal leader Christine Milne.

Mr McKim might have been expected to return to the state leadership but the timing means he is unlikely to do so, given his ­involvement in the federal pre­selection process.

The situation has left the party’s parliamentary team without a leader, although the post is almost certain to be taken by former minister Cassy O’Connor.

If Mr McKim is successful in preselection for the Senate, he too will leave the House of Assembly and the Greens will have two new MPs elected to state parliament in quick succession.

Under Tasmania’s system of multi-member lower-house electorates, vacancies are filled via a re-count, rather than a by-election, with candidates from the same party as the departing MP almost invariably being elected.

Mr Booth, 63, said his decision was made following the death of his father over the weekend.

“Since my father died on Sunday, I have taken the last few days to reflect upon how short a time we have on this planet, and the importance of using that time wisely to meet a variety of responsibilities,” he said. “I now need to put the needs of my family first, and I also recognise that by doing so I can provide opportunities to others to contribute within the parliamentary arena.”

Mr Booth, an experienced, wily and skilful politician, is a significant loss for the party as it seeks to rebuild after a poor showing at last year’s state election, at which it lost two seats.

The former sawmiller was a tireless ­opponent of old-growth forest logging.

He was an effective parliamentary performer, famously forcing the resignation of a Labor minister by painstakingly reassembling an incriminating shredded document found in a bin.