Wheelchair-bound woman in a critical condition in hospital after fall from ramp near Glenorchy polling booth
A wheelchair-bound woman was seriously injured during an incident near a polling booth on state election day, and she remains in hospital in a critical condition.
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A WOMAN is in a critical condition after an accident involving her wheelchair and a ramp near a polling booth in Hobart’s northern suburbs on state election day.
After the serious incident at Glenorchy on Saturday morning, the woman was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital.
A Health Department spokesman said she remained at the RHH and was in a critical condition.
The nature of her injuries are not known.
Tasmanian Electoral Commission Deputy Commissioner Ngaire Edwards confirmed the incident occurred at Glenorchy Primary School and that it was being investigated.
It is believed the woman had been moving through the school grounds intending to vote, but did not make it to the polling place due to the incident.
Ms Edwards said an ambulance was called to the scene, and the manager at the polling place filed an incident report to the state’s Justice Department, which manages workplace health and safety issues.
“The polling manager came across to assist, an ambulance was called and (the woman) was transported to hospital,” she said.
“We escalated it through to the Justice WHS section on Monday. We’ve been in contact with the lady’s brother and also to her caregivers.”
A Department of Justice spokesman said WorkSafe Tasmania had been notified of the incident and would be making inquiries.
Disability Voices Tasmania chair Michael Small described the case as a “very sad occurrence”.
Mr Small said there were requirements to ensure access for people with a disability.
“Any building that seeks to provide access for the whole community needs to make sure that whatever means of providing access is safe and complies with the law,” he said.
“In terms of ramps, for decades there has been some very specific technical requirements that are aimed to make ramps safe. This is both for people who use wheelchairs but also for blind people.”
There were 268 polling places across Tasmania last Saturday as electors voted not only for House of Assembly candidates, but also for the Legislative Council divisions of Derwent and Windermere.
Abetz predicted to stay at number one
By Sue Bailey
VETERAN Tasmanian Liberal senator Eric Abetz looks likely to take the number one spot on the Senate ticket for the next federal election.
The Liberal Party will meet on Saturday to determine the order of the three sitting senators – including Wendy Askew and Jonno Duniam – who are the only three nominations for pre-selection.
Party members expect a tight contest but those close to Senator Abetz, 63, say he has more than half the 67 votes needed for the coveted number one spot.
“Eric is highly respected here and interstate, his intellect is unrivalled and his work ethic second to none,” one Liberal source said.
“The only reason he is not a minister is he voted for the wrong person.”
Senator Duniam, 38, who once worked for Senator Abetz and is assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries and Industry Development is expected to be number two with Senator Askew number three.
Supporters of Senator Askew, who filled a casual vacancy in 2019 when her brother David Bushby retired from the Senate to take up a diplomatic post, are unhappy she may not be higher up the ticket.
Senator Askew said she was “leaving the decision in the hand of the selectors”.
A group of 67 Liberal Party members will meet in person to decide the order on the Senate ticket.
They include party president Rod Scurrah, vice-president Peter McKay, the chairs of five electorate committees – Michael McKenna in Franklin, Ross Copping in Clark, Rene Hidding in Lyons, Nigel Morgan in Braddon and Simon Woods in Bass – and 12 delegates from each electorate.
Braddon MP-in-waiting Adam Brooks is a Braddon delegate.
While the number three place on the ticket is sometimes seen as unwinnable, it is likely all three senators will be returned in the half Senate election due in the next 12 months.
Political analyst Professor Richard Herr said it seemed the Liberal Party was not keen to embrace any change.
“With the Me Too movement, the Liberal Party seems to have trouble showing they respect women who contribute,” he said.
“It makes no sense they talk about being inclusive but they are putting a woman in a potentially unwinnable spot.
“The march of history shows times are changing and half of Tasmania’s Lower House is women.”
In Queensland, Senator Amanda Stoker, who is an assistant minister and supported by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, was last weekend relegated to the number three spot.
Labor’s Helen Polley and Anne Urquhart are expected to seek another term but it is unclear when Labor will seek nominations.
Labor sources said the date for nominations was put back when the state election was called.
The party’s administrative committee is due to meet on May 21 and will decide the timetable for the selection process.
Australian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson was pre-selected as lead Senate candidate in July last year.
Greens convener Scott Jordan said the pre-selection process for two other Senate candidates was underway.
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