Tasmania election shows Libs have a pulse but that's it
Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff called the election after Labor and the Greens passed a motion of no-confidence in his minority government, ostensibly over the state of the budget.
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ABC News
27 minutes ago
- ABC News
Ex-Labor premier David Bartlett adamant minority Tasmanian government can work if cool heads prevail
Tasmania is in a holding pattern as politicians wait to see the final makeup of the next parliament. The ABC has called 14 seats for the Liberals and nine for Labor. The Greens have won five seats, independents four, leaving three seats yet to be determined. Those three seats could be crucial to whoever forms the next government. And until they become clear, party leaders can do very little. Both Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Labor leader Dean Winter have been reaching out to confirmed and potential crossbenchers. The two leaders know voters expect them to make the next parliament work and ideally for four years, but they will have to navigate a very diverse set of views. David Bartlett, who as Labor premier came to a minority government agreement with the Greens in 2010, had some advice for both parties. He told ABC Radio Hobart that when dealing with the crossbench, Mr Winter and Mr Rockliff should not start by trading on policy. "Stop doing these individual deals that trade off policy because it's not credible for Kristie [Johnston], who's an incredibly great politician, in my view, to suddenly drop a policy or not fight for the policy she went to an election on," he said. Mr Bartlett said that was how he and then-Greens leader Nick McKim approached things back in 2010. "The one thing Nick McKim and I did immediately when we first talked, which was after [he] offered me supply and confidence, we said to each other we are not going to negotiate away policy right now at the start," he said. "What we're going to do is create trust and a protocol through which we could negotiate on policy and could transparently and openly discuss policy. Mr Bartlett said the arrangement worked because there was trust, particularly between himself and the Green ministers. "I met with them every week. We had a protocol for dealing with issues. We then also had a formal exchange of letters," he said. Senator Jonathon Duniam told ABC Radio Hobart there would need to be some form of understanding, but given the differences, it may be difficult to appease them all. "Each of those, what, four, five independents we might have, plus the Greens, all have very disparate views on a range of things, and I'm not 100 per cent sure how you're going to be able to cobble together a coherent pathway forward if you appease all of them on the way through," he said. He said independents and minor parties also have a responsibility to make this new parliament work. "We've just been through an early election and we can talk about Dean and Jeremy all we like, but at the end of the day, you know, Peter George is absolutely clear in what he stands for," Senator Duniam said. "But, he's going to have to give on some of the things he's talking about." "There's going to be a lot of case-by-case assessment of legislation on the part of the crossbenchers and again, this is where a sensible, cool head is required.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Labor faces internal housing battle in PM's heartland
With proud Marrickville resident Anthony Albanese in The Lodge, Sydney's inner west has become the centre of Australia's political universe. It's also the centre of one of the more pressing political issues of our time – how to build more housing in a central part of Sydney which has historically been pathologically opposed to development. The area is full of progressive Labor-Greens voters fully supportive of high-density, affordable housing in every suburb – barring their own. It's the kind of place where people read Ezra Klein's Abundance book for fun. Little surprise then that there are a multitude of views around how best to build, baby, build among influential Labor figures in the PM's own backyard. The council, led by ambitious Labor mayor Darcy Byrne (a good mate of Albo) objected to Premier Chris Minns' Transport Oriented Development scheme and, in May, revealed its own plan to boost density, which involves buildings of six to 11 storeys clustered around Ashfield, Marrickville, Dulwich Hill and Croydon. Loading Cue fury among some residents' groups in those suburbs, disgruntled at having to bear the brunt of the council's density reforms. They pointed to the fact that the inner west's leafier areas such as Balmain, Rozelle and Annandale were spared the brunt of the development. To be fair, none of those suburbs is on a train line. Earlier this month, local Labor MP Jo Haylen, who was a minister in the Minns government before that silly business with taking chauffeured cars to a boozy birthday brunch, wrote to Byrne to voice those residents' concerns. Some of the suburbs slated for the most development sit in her Summer Hill electorate. In a letter seen by CBD, Haylen urged Byrne to 'give serious consideration' to the feedback on the plan provided by her community.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Hasten slowly: Voters wary of reform surprise from Albanese
Just 20 per cent backed a change to the rate of the 10 per cent GST, with opposition at 47 per cent. Across every group, from Labor to low- and high-income earners, opposition to a different GST rate was high. At least half of retirees, people in marginal seats and Coalition voters oppose a new rate. There was little support for a change to the base of the GST, with some proponents arguing it should be extended to areas such as financial services and fresh food. Just 23 per cent of those surveyed back such a move, with opposition at 40 per cent. On Monday, the Labor-aligned McKell Institute released research into changing the capital gains tax concession in a bid to meet the government's 1.2 million target of new homes by the end of the decade. It found that lifting the current 50 per cent concession to 70 per cent for investors who build new apartments or units while cutting it to 35 per cent for those who bought existing detached homes would create an additional 130,000 properties by 2030. The RPM poll showed support to axe or reduce capital gains tax concessions was the highest of any reform put to those surveyed. Thirty-six per cent backed a change to the concession, with 37 per cent unsure. Opposition was at 27 per cent, although this was driven by Coalition voters, of whom 35 per cent did not support the move. Even among higher-income respondents, more people supported a change (38 per cent) than opposed it outright (31 per cent). Labor went to the 2019 election, which it lost against expectations, promising an overhaul of both CGT and negative gearing. The RPM poll shows less than a third of those surveyed agreed with either reducing negative gearing or axing it completely. Just 31 per cent backed a change compared to 43 per cent who said they were unsure, while 26 per cent opposed. Support was highest among Labor voters and high-income people (at 35 per cent), while support was lowest among Coalition supporters at just 26 per cent. While the poll results are a warning to the government, they also contain a key message for the Coalition. Just 18 per cent of respondents agreed the Coalition should oppose major reforms, with 57 per cent saying the Liberal and Nationals parties should negotiate changes and reach a consensus with the government. Even among Coalition voters, 58 per cent believe in negotiation with the government, with the highest support level among retirees at 69 per cent. A quarter of those polled said the focus of reform should be on health, just ahead of housing, which was identified by 24 per cent as the government's priority. Economic and financial reform was ranked the most important by 21 per cent. Pushed on the state of the budget, 37 per cent said Chalmers should reduce spending to remain in surplus, while just 14 per cent backed current spending levels being paid for by higher taxes. Twenty-eight per cent said the government should maintain spending levels and keep the budget in deficit. Some voters seem prepared to bear the brunt of any cuts. Forty-one per cent of respondents said they were willing to make a personal sacrifice for reform, with just 19 per cent saying they were not. Another 41 per cent said they were unsure. The most prepared to give up something were Labor voters (45 per cent) and those on higher incomes (47 per cent), while the least prepared were Coalition voters (37 per cent) and the unemployed (30 per cent). This week, independent MP Allegra Spender – who is due to attend the government's economic roundtable – will hold her own tax discussion with experts including former Treasury secretary Ken Henry, current head of the Grattan Institute Aruna Sathanapally and Westpac chief economist and former Reserve Bank economist Luci Ellis. She said reform of the tax system had to be on the government's agenda given its importance to the nation's future. 'Tax reform can help young people get ahead, help our businesses thrive and help us transition our energy as cheaply as possible,' she said.
