Australia's Tasmania on track for minority government after poll
The conservative Liberal government was on track to win more seats than the main Labor opposition in the new parliament but would probably fall short of a majority after Saturday's election, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. projected.
The Liberals' strong performance under Jeremy Rockliff, premier since 2022, follows a heavy defeat suffered at May's national election, which returned Anthony Albanese-led Labor for a second term with an increased majority.
Saturday's vote showed Tasmanians have "no confidence in the Labor party to form government and they have voted to reendorse our Liberal government," Rockliff said in televised remarks from the state capital of Hobart.
The result for Labor, on track to win nine seats of a possible 35, was shaping as the party's worst-ever result in Tasmania, the Guardian Australia newspaper said.
On Sunday, state Labor leader Dean Winter said the result was disappointing for the party, but he did not concede defeat.
The election was triggered by a no-confidence vote against Rockliff initiated by Labor on concerns about public debt and plans to privatise assets.
It came less than two years after the state's most recent poll, in which a majority eluded the Liberals.
The only Australian state to elect its lower house on the basis of proportional representation, Tasmania has a long history of minority governments.
Wilderness or protected areas make up 40% of the island, which is 445 km (275 miles) away from Melbourne, usually requiring a flight of an hour, or a ferry crossing 10 times longer, to cover the distance.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Gordon promises transparency if elected Davenport mayor
You know by now there will be a change at the top of Davenport city government. Mayor Mike Matson will not run for a fourth term in office. That leaves two people – Jason Gordon and Judith Lee – who want the job and will be on the ballot to replace them. Host Jim Niedelman gets to know Jason Gordon a little better in this '4 the Record' interview. Gordon grew up in Davenport after his family moved here when he was eight years old. He graduated from Davenport Central High School. and earned a political science degree from the University of Iowa. He's currently the client development manager for the engineering consultant firm Terracon. He worked for Valley Construction in the past as vice president of business development, and was vice president of public affairs for the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. He has government experience: He spent eight years on the Davenport City Council as alderman-at-large from 2010 to 2018. 'I think the mayor's role relative to the building collapse is how are we staffed appropriately to do the work we need to do relative to inspections, and does our city code provide us with the resources we need to take action again negligent landlords,' he said. To hear what else Gordon has to say, click on the video. Local 4 News, your local election headquarters, is proud to present , a weekly news and public affairs program focused on the issues important to you. It's a program unlike any other here in the Quad Cities. Tune in each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. as brings you up to speed on what's happening in the political arena, from Springfield, Des Moines, Washington, D.C. and right here at home. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Calls for Japan's Leader to Resign as His Party Faces Election Defeat
Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, which has led the country for most of the last seven decades, appeared to be heading toward a major defeat in parliamentary elections on Sunday, as exit polls showed voters shifting to opposition parties that included new right-wing populist groups. The vote for the less powerful Upper House of the bicameral Diet, as Japan's Parliament is called, was being closely watched as a referendum on the governing party and its leader, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Under Mr. Ishiba, the Liberal Democrats have struggled to deal with a variety of issues, including the rising price of rice, a backlash against increased immigration and the threat of tariffs from Washington. After voting ended, exit polls showed the Liberal Democrats and their coalition partner unlikely to hold on to the 50 seats of their 66 up for re-election that they needed to retain control of the chamber. As many as two-thirds of the 124 seats up for re-election appeared set to go to a host of opposition parties spread across the political spectrum. Even as ballots were still being counted in dozens of close-fought races, powerful members of the governing party were already calling for Mr. Ishiba to step down to take responsibility for what seemed to be a poor showing. Taro Aso, a former deputy prime minister, said he 'couldn't accept' Mr. Ishiba staying on as prime minister, Japan's TV Asahi reported. While Mr. Ishiba said in a television interview on Sunday that his party had not done well, he said he wanted to continue as leader because he still had 'important duties to fulfill for the nation.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Japan PM laments ‘harsh' election result as upper house control slips
Japan's shaky ruling coalition is likely to lose its majority in the upper house, exit polls showed after Sunday's election, potentially heralding political turmoil as a tariff deadline with the United States looms. While the ballot does not directly determine whether Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's minority government falls, it heaps pressure on the embattled leader who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October. Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and coalition partner Komeito needed 50 seats to retain control of the 248-seat upper chamber in an election where half the seats were up for grabs. They are forecast to secure 32 to 51 seats, the exit poll by public broadcaster NHK showed. Other broadcasters forecast the ruling coalition would hold 41-43 seats. If the coalition holds less than 46 seats, it would mark its worst result since the coalition was formed in 1999. That comes on top of its worst showing in 15 years in October's lower house election, a vote which has left Ishiba's administration vulnerable to no-confidence motions and calls from within his own party for leadership change. Speaking two hours after polls closed to public broadcaster NHK, Ishiba said he 'solemnly' accepted the 'harsh result.' Asked whether he intended to stay on as prime minister and party leader, he said 'that's right.' 'We are engaged in extremely critical tariff negotiations with the United States…we must never ruin these negotiations. It is only natural to devote our complete dedication and energy to realizing our national interests,' he later told TV Tokyo. Japan, the world's fourth largest economy, faces a deadline of August 1 to strike a trade deal with the United States or face punishing tariffs in its largest export market. The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party is projected to win 18 to 30 seats, from 22 held previously, NHK's exit poll showed. The far-right Sanseito party, birthed on YouTube a few years ago, has been the surprise package with its 'Japanese First' campaign and warnings about a 'silent invasion' of foreigners. It is forecast to win 10-15 seats in the chamber, up from one held previously, yet it holds only three seats in the lower house. Opposition parties advocating for tax cuts and tougher immigration policies look set to make gains, the exit polls showed, with rising consumer prices – particularly a jump in the cost of the staple rice – a key issue for voters. 'The LDP was largely playing defense in this election, being on the wrong side of a key voter issue,' said David Boling, a director at consulting firm Eurasia Group. 'Polls show that most households want a cut to the consumption tax to address inflation, something that the LDP opposes. Opposition parties seized on it and hammered that message home.' The LDP have been urging for fiscal restraint, with one eye on a very jittery government bond market, as investors worry about Japan's ability to refinance the world's largest debt pile. Sanseito, which first emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, has dragged once-fringe political rhetoric into the mainstream and gained wider support among frustrated voters. It remains to be seen whether the party can follow the path of other far-right parties with which it has drawn comparisons, such as Germany's AFD and Reform UK. 'I am attending graduate school but there are no Japanese around me. All of them are foreigners,' said Yu Nagai, a 25-year-old student who voted for Sanseito earlier on Sunday. 'When I look at the way compensation and money are spent on foreigners, I think that Japanese people are a bit disrespected,' Nagai said after casting his ballot at a polling station in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward. Japan, the world's oldest society, saw foreign-born residents hit a record of about 3.8 million last year. That is still just 3% of the total population, a much smaller fraction than in the United States and Europe, but comes amid a tourism boom that has made foreigners far more visible across the country.
