Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White demands weakened government recall parliament

Premier Jeremy Rockliff must test his hold on power on the floor of the House of Assembly, Labor leader Rebecca White says.

Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White at Cambridge.

If Liberal MPs can’t trust the government they’re a part of, neither can the community, Labor Leader Rebecca White says.

The Opposition wants the Premier to recall parliament and test his hold on government on the floor of the House of Assembly.

Ms White said the resignation of two government MPs is not inspire confidence in the Liberals.

“They have quit because they believe that Tasmanians deserve a better government than the one we currently have.

“If they don’t trust the current government, how can the rest of the Tasmanian community this is a government that promised to provide stable majority government for Tasmanians when they are elected.

“They have failed to do that.

“Jeremy Rockliff should recall parliament at the earliest opportunity and test that he continues to have the confidence of the majority of members of the Tasmanian parliament.

Ms White said Tasmanians could be back at the polls sooner than they expected.

“There may well be another early election. This is a government that was only re-elected two years ago and here they are in complete disarray, no longer the majority government that they promised Tasmanians they would be, no longer a stable government.

“They don’t have the same premier leading them that Tasmanians voted for just two years ago.

Tasmanian Liberal Government in minority as backbenchers quit

“This government is a mess and I wouldn’t be surprised if we do see another early election here in Tasmania.”

She said that the government’s mishandling of the AFL team bid and the stadium deal had all led up to this point.

Mr Rockliff signed a deal with the AFL last week to secure a local team as the 19th in the AFL on the condition a $710m roofed stadium is build at Macquarie Point.

“I thought there was an interesting line that was used by John Tucker today and he said that the dream might turn into a nightmare for the Tasmanian taxpayer.

“There’s no doubt there are serious concerns about the stadium. It’s why two members of the Liberal government have quit today.

“But that shouldn’t call into question our right to have a footy team in the AFL and it should never have been something that Jeremy Rockliff caved into with the AFL to put this in question in the first place.

“There was a unity ticket for us to get a team in the AFL. But he has divided the state by pursuing a stadium that not even members of his own Liberal Party support.”

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor called on Mr Rockliff to walk away from the deal.

“What we know is that the majority of members in the Tasmanian House of Assembly are opposed to the stadium,” she said.

“We believe that reflects the mood of the Tasmanian people. The stadium is not a done deal. “If Jeremy Rockliff is smart, he’ll walk away from it now because the political cost to him will only grow.

“We’ll be having conversations across the parliament. But now we have two new independents and a majority in the Tasmanian parliament who are opposed to this billion dollar stadium, a majority in the Tasmanian parliament who want to see this government focus on health, housing, education, cost of living those things that matter to the Tasmanian people.”