Vulnerable Tasmanian Libs flirt with ex-Labor MP Madeleine Ogilvie

The Tasmanian Liberals are leaving open the option of bringing independent former Labor MP Madeleine Ogilvie into the fold to shore up its fragile majority.

Independent MP Madeleine Ogilvie. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The Tasmanian Liberals are leaving open the option of bringing independent former Labor MP Madeleine Ogilvie into the fold to shore up the state government’s fragile majority.

Liberals have discussed the idea, which would maintain the government’s one-seat majority should rebel Speaker Sue Hickey quit the party in response to moves to deny her preselection for the next state election.

Ms Ogilvie, a former Labor MP who re-entered parliament on a recount in September last year and opted to sit as an independent, is understood to be weighing her options.

Publicly, both sides played down the prospect of Ms Ogilvie joining the Liberals or the government, but neither side would ­explicitly rule it out.

Asked whether the Liberal Party was open to Ms Ogilvie joining, a spokesman said: “It is Madeleine’s decision if she wishes to apply to join any Tasmanian political party.”

A government spokeswoman would not rule out the move, either. “Madeleine Ogilvie is an independent member and as such, we don’t speak for Madeleine,” she said.

Ms Ogilvie, a former member of Labor’s Right faction, is understood to be keeping an open mind but said she had “no plans” to join the Liberals.

“I am enjoying the privilege and freedom of being an independent, which is allowing me to deliver real outcomes for the people of (my electorate of) Clark, and of Tasmania, and I have no plans to change that,” she said.

The government has built a good working relationship with Ms Ogilvie, whose vote has sec­ured passage of several landmark government bills, including mandatory sentencing for child sex offenders and curbs on anti-forestry and farming protests.

She has appeared alongside the deputy premier at a government press conference and has been open about her desire to use her balance of power role to secure jobs and transport improvements for Clark.

With Ms Hickey effectively voting as an independent, occasionally against her own government, there is a strong push within the Liberals to deny her preselection for the state election, due by March 2022.

Any retaliatory decision by Ms Hickey to quit the Liberals ahead of the poll would end the party’s one-seat majority unless Ms Ogilvie was on board.

Adding to the intrigue, Ms Hickey, Ms Ogilvie and Liberal Attorney-General Elise Archer all represent Hobart-based Clark under Tasmania’s multiple-­member electorate system.

Earlier this year, Ms Hickey was omitted from a Liberal flyer for Clark, prompting the latest in a series of public spats between Ms Hickey and Ms Archer.

Under the Hare Clark system, each electorate returns five members, compelling serious candidates to spend tens of thousands of dollars on campaigning.

Contests are tougher for independents, who lack party support and advertising.

Ms Ogilvie, a Catholic lawyer, publicly fell out with Labor’s Left faction over same-sex marriage. This month, she sided with Premier Peter Gutwein in wanting an inquiry into a euthanasia bill before a final vote on the legislation.