O’Byrne breaks four-year silence with Labor leader over Tas government talks

Re-elected independent David O’Byrne says he’s spoken to Labor leader Dean Winter for the first time in four years as discussions continue on who will form Tasmania’s next government.

Independent member for Franklin David O'Byrne speaks to the media at Mawson Place in Hobart on Thursday, July 24, 2025.

Re-elected independent David O’Byrne says he’s spoken to Labor leader Dean Winter for the first time in four years as discussions continue on who will form Tasmania’s next government.

Mr O’Byrne, a former Labor leader who now sits as an independent member for Franklin, looked to have been re-elected on Saturday and will be one of the key crossbench votes in determining whether the Liberals or Labor sit on the government benches when Parliament resumes.

“I’m very much focused on trying to get Parliament back to work, respecting the will of the Tasmanian people,” he said on Thursday.

Independent member for Franklin David O'Byrne speaks to the media at Mawson Place in Hobart on Thursday, July 24, 2025.

“So regardless of the history between Dean and I and the all the ups and downs of that relationship, my focus in my conversation with him was getting to understand how he’s going to make Parliament work if he seeks to take on government.

“I’ve approached the conversation with Dean as I have with [Premier] Jeremy [Rockliff] this time around, very similar to the conversation I had 12 months ago when the previous parliament was formed, that it is about, how do you make a functional government work

“I think it’s that’s a very hard question to answer in terms of a mandate, because clearly, no one has a mandate.

“Every parliament, every parliamentarian has an obligation to make it work, going into negotiations.

Mr O’Byrne is the last member of the Labor-Green government that lasted four years from 2010 who remains in the House of Assembly.

Hobart Tasmania Wednesday 16th July 2025. Sky News / The Mercury Leaders debate. Leader of the opposition Dean Winter during the televised debate. Picture: The Mercury / Linda Higginson

He said Labor faced a difficult task if it was to prevail and run a full term.

“I remember I was a member of a 10 member Labor Party in a 25-seat house and I recall how difficult that was and how hard that was to work.

“Every day you walked on the floor of Parliament, you were fearful it could be your last and trying to make it work with 10 members in 35 is going to be very difficult.

“So when you look at the practicalities, regardless of the vote, in terms of the raw numbers that people voted across the state, the raw numbers on the floor will dictate how easy it is or not easy to form a government.”

Federal independent MP for Clark Andrew Wilkie on Thursday called on the major parties to face the reality of the election result.

“At least one thing’s clear after the poll, where the independents enjoyed a surge in their vote and no major party secured even close to a majority. And that’s that the community expects all of those elected to grow up and this time make the Parliament work,” he said.

“So Liberal and Labor must stop insisting that only majority government is OK, and that the crossbenchers are just wreckers and road blocks. It’s simply not the case. Indeed it’s a lie, because the crossbench vote shows they are not fringe players, but central to the operation of the Parliament.

“In other words it’s time for Liberal and Labor to pull their heads out of the sand and face the reality of power-sharing. Anything less will show contempt for the Tasmanian community.”