Former federal Liberal MP Bridget Archer recruited by Rockliff for snap Tasmania poll
Prominent former federal Liberal MP, Bridget Archer, has announced she will contest a snap Tasmanian election for the embattled state government, amid ongoing political upheaval.
The Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff, is expected to call an election on Tuesday – only 15 months after Tasmanians last went to the polls – after the state parliament passed a motion of no confidence in him.
On Sunday Rockliff announced that Archer – the former federal Liberal MP who lost the seat of Bass at the federal election in May – would run in the upcoming poll.
Archer is a moderate ally of the premier and provided him with vocal support through the no confidence saga.
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'I have just come off the back of a federal election which was a little bit bruising, I think it's fair to say, and I don't think I have really quite had enough time to process that,' Archer said on Sunday at a press conference alongside Rockliff.
'But I think like many Tasmanians, I have spent the last few days absolutely appalled with the shenanigans that have been played out by [the opposition leader] Dean Winter in the state parliament.'
Archer, who crossed the floor multiple times in the federal parliament, said she was 'not going to be anyone's stooge or anyone's puppet' should she be elected in Tasmania.
'I'm always going to say what I think, and I'm going to do that in a constructive way.'
Archer will stand in Bass – the same area she represented in federal parliament – attempting to win one of seven seats in the electorate, under Tasmania's multi-member Hare-Clark system.
Asked about her federal loss – in which Archer suffered a swing of more than 9% against her – she said the campaign against her had attempted to link her to the former federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton.
'If we're applying that [same logic] here, going in to a state election, I'm 100% happy for people to say a vote for Bridget Archer is a vote for Jeremy Rockliff.'
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Rockliff said Archer was a welcome addition to the ticket.
'Bridget is a fighter. Bridget understands the importance of being part of team Tasmania,' he said.
Labor, the Greens and several independents voted together to support the no confidence motion in Rockliff. The Liberals had run the state in a minority government – the Liberals hold only 14 of 35 lower house seats – and few analysts believe there is much chance of any party winning a majority at an election.
The Greens – who hold the balance of power along with several independents – said on Saturday they would offer confidence and supply to Labor and the opposition leader to avoid an election that almost no one wants, and which is unlikely to break the state's political impasse.
Winter has ruled out any such deal, saying Labor's agenda 'does not align with the Greens in any way, shape or form'.
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