Snap election tipped to return another hung parliament

Perth Now

a day ago

One state is on track for another minority government, according to opinion polling which suggests Labor will win more seats than the incumbent Liberals.
Tasmania heads to the polls on July 19 after parliament passed a no-confidence motion in minority Premier Jeremy Rockliff in early June.
It is the island state's second election in as many years, and the fourth in seven .
Opinion polling by YouGov, the first of the campaign, has Labor getting 34 per cent of the first preference vote, ahead of the Liberals (31), independents (18) and Greens (13).
That would likely translate to around 14 seats for Labor, short of the 18 required to govern in majority.
The party, which has been in opposition since 2014, currently holds 10 of 35 lower-house seats, while the Liberals hold 14.
"Labor is on course to become the largest party in what will still be a hung parliament," Paul Smith, YouGov director of public data, said.
The polling, taken in mid-June, has Labor boosting its support from the March 2024 election by five per cent with a roughly five per cent drop for the Liberals.
Anti-salmon campaigner Peter George, who gave Labor's Julie Collins a run at the federal election, has also thrown his hat in the ring.
The Liberals suffered a 12 per cent swing against them at the most-recent election, with voters jumping to minor parties and independents.
The polling has Mr Rockliff as preferred premier with 43 per cent support, with Labor leader Dean Winter (36) trailing with more than one-fifth of voters undecided.
Mr Winter has ruled out "doing a deal" with the Greens to form government.
The crossbench as it stands includes five Greens, five independents and one member of the Jacqui Lambie Network, who is now running with the Nationals.
Several notable independent candidates are attempting to capitalise on major party dissatisfaction, including former Liberal attorney-general Elise Archer.
Federal Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie has backed Mr George and incumbent independent Kristie Johnston, who voted for the no-confidence motion.
Ms Johnston, who wouldn't be drawn on whether she would rather back a Liberal or Labor government, said the major parties needed to change their attitude.
"What we saw in the last parliament was a disrespect from both the premier and the leader of opposition to the crossbench," she said.
"There were 11 members of the crossbench in the last parliament, more than what was on the opposition (Labor) bench."
Ballooning net debt on Mr Rockliff's watch was a major reason for the no-confidence motion, but Ms Johnston said she was yet to see any solutions from the Liberals or Labor.