Tasmanian election: Liberals begin minority talks as Labor rolls leader

Tasmania’s Liberals have started backroom negotiations to try to form government, as Labor axed its leader to walk away from a shot at governing.

Tasmania’s caretaker Premier Jeremy Rockliff on Sunday. Picture: Chris Kidd

Tasmania’s Liberals have started backroom negotiations with ­independents and the Jacqui Lambie Network to try to form government, as Labor rolled its leader to walk away from a shot at governing.

Caretaker Premier Jeremy Rockliff, whose Liberals on ­Saturday night failed to gain a majority but will hold the most seats, said on Sunday he had started discussions with likely independents and the JLN, promising to “do better” on health and housing.

“I have already reached out to potential independents and indeed the Lambie party as well,” Mr Rockliff said.

“I look forward to those ongoing discussion to ensure … the new people that are elected to the Tasmanian parliament will want that certainty and stability that Tasmanians clearly deserve.”

The Liberals, who saw their primary vote fall 12 percentage points from the 2021 election, had “taken a kick” but Tasmanians had not voted to change the government, he said.

However, it is unclear if the Liberal Party will have enough independents and JLN MPs onside to strike a minority government agreement.

If an agreement cannot be made in the coming weeks, while counting continues, the Liberals will need to test their support on the floor of parliament.

Having survived that vote, the party would then need to rely on an essentially hostile parliament to pass every piece of legislation and for its ongoing survival.

Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White. Picture: Chris Kidd

Labor leader Rebecca White – who senior party sources say will not survive as leader – ­backflipped on her Saturday night talk of a Labor-led grand coalition, conceding it was “very unlikely” her party could form government. “On the outcome of the result yesterday, it seems very unlikely the Labor Party can form government,“ Ms White said on Sunday.

“I respect that outcome, I respect the will of the people.”

She said it was most likely, given constitutional conventions, that Governor Barbara Baker would first ask the incumbent Liberals to test their support on the floor of parliament.

It is understood Ms White was rolled by her party overnight, with most of her colleagues believing it impossible or counter-productive to try to govern with as few as 10 out of 35 seats in the House of Assembly. Eighteen seats are needed for a majority.

With the final make-up of the parliament to remain unclear until all postal votes are received and the preference carve-up begins on April 2, the state is entering a period of political limbo. It appears the Liberals are likely to have 15 seats, Labor 10 or 11, the Greens five and the Jacqui Lambie Network two or three, while two independents will also be elected.

Senator Lambie has said it will be up to her MPs to decide who to support to govern, but the Liberals had done themselves “no favours” by attacking her party with a fake website during the campaign.

On Sunday, she told The Australian that, given it was not known which of her MPs would be elected, it was too soon to say what attitude the party would take. “We have no idea who will be elected – we are just all staying grounded,” Senator Lambie said.

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff suggested whoever formed government would need to heed her party’s policy positions.

“The Greens will have a big say in the next parliament,” Dr Woodruff said.

“We’ve been very clear about our agenda in this campaign and we won’t stop from trying to achieve it – and that is big improvements for renters, big improvements for the environment, big improvements in the health system.”

The party would seek to kill the stadium, to divert more funding to health and housing.

One of the up to five Greens MPs elected, Cecily Rosol, made it clear she personally would not support the stadium, believing most of her constituents opposed it.

“People in Bass … want a functional health system, they want everyone to have access to a secure home and they want help with the increasing cost of living,” Mr Rosol said. “People want these things instead of a stadium.”