5 days ago
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff vows he will ‘get on with the job' and form government
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has confirmed he will ask the Governor to recommission his government once the outcome of the voting is finalised.
Tasmanians headed to the polls on Saturday to decide on the state's next government as Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Opposition Leader Dean Winter battled it out for the state's top job in an intense election campaign.
The early election was sparked by a successful no-confidence motion against Premier Rockliff last month, with the deciding vote being cast by speaker of the house Michelle O'Byrne.
On Sunday afternoon, Mr Rockliff said he has reached out to potential crossbenchers who 'in the cold, hard light of day will recognise' the Liberal Party will clinch the most number of seats to form a cabinet.
'I'm willing to, of course, make this parliament work, and in the best interests of Tasmanians, they expect the end to the political games and they expect a parliament to work together in the best interests of the Tasmanian people,' he said.
Mr Rockliff said he had "good conversations" with independent MPs including Craig Garland and Peter George and congratulated them on their election.
The Tasmanian Premier said while it was still too early to announce cabinet members, his team was 'very united" and will continue to deliver for the Tasmanian people.
'What Tasmanians clearly voted for yesterday, was an end to the political games. They expect a parliament to work together and they expect the parliament to last four years," he said.
"That is my commitment as Premier to ensure that we have a four-year parliament to provide that certainty and stability for the Tasmanian people."
The Liberals claimed more seats than any other party in the election, with Sky News Chief Election Analyst Tom Connell projecting another hung parliament.
Neither major party secured enough seats to form a majority, with party leaders now set to negotiate with members of the crossbench to piece together a government.
Mr Rockliff's Labor counterpart, Mr Winter, said the Liberals Party should be given the first opportunity to form government, but he could not see them securing sufficient support.
Mr Winter did not concede defeat on Sunday and is committed to working 'collaboratively' with crossbench for another four years.
'Tasmanians have voted for a change of approach, and they want to see their politicians working better together and I accept that all of us need to change the way that we approach this,' Mr Winter said.
'There's going to be a large crossbench again and this is going to about who can form a government that can last for four years.
'This morning I've spoken to a number of members of the crossbench and offered that Tasmania Labor will try and work differently and collaboratively with the cross bench.'
The opposition leader doubled down on not working with the Greens despite the party offering an olive branch overnight, willing to work with Labor.
'What I do want to reiterate is that Tasmania Labor will not do deals with the Greens. I repeated that hundreds of times during the election campaign and I will not change that,' Mr Winter said.
'The Greens can make their own choices. They've made their choice to vote no confidence in Jeremy Rockliff and that's a matter for them.
'Tasmania Labor believes in jobs, safe, secure, well-paid jobs and we support traditional industries that have been supporting Tasmanian regional communities.'
During Mr Rockliff's announcement, the Premier said Mr Winter secured the "lowest Labor vote in over a century" and Tasmanians would look on him "very poorly" if he went back on his word and did a deal with the Greens.
"But what I can say is that Mr Winter has said today that we should be given the first opportunity to govern. That's exactly what I intend to do. I will get on with the job and I will be going to the Governor to seek a recommissioning of our Government," Mr Rockliff said.
Mr Winter said it was time for parliamentarians to start behaving maturely and working together for what's need for the Tasmanian people.
'Chest beating and bravado doesn't cut it. What we need to see is collaboration and working together, Tasmanians want to see their politicians rise to a higher level. They want to see us working better together and they don't want another early election,' Mr Winter said.
The state Labor leader said his party is committed to the proposed $1 billion AFL stadium for the Tasmania Devils.
'Tasmanians want to see an AFL team. It's something we've worked on for generations. For decades now, we've wanted one, and we all understand what that means. And so, we want to deliver the team, and we understand the stadium goes with that,' Mr Winter said.
The AFL Stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart has been a highly contested issue throughout the state election.
The Greens, the Nationals and some Independents say its too expensive for the state.
The other side of the argument say it will bring prosperity to Tasmania and boost tourism in the long run, contributing to the economy and generating around $140 million during the construction period alone.
