Labor's vote tanks in the Tasmanian state election that 'nobody really wanted'
MAN: "Very important. No, it'll be great for everything, the economy, the kids, the footy. Yeah, it'll be good."
WOMAN: "It will completely help Tasmania. We need it, our economy needs it, and it's great for the kids."
WOMAN: "Because we need one in Tassie."
MAN: "And the economic benefits."
DISTANT VOICE: "We need jobs." There have been other concerns too, besides the budget and cost of living pressures - from multicultural communities like the Nepalese diaspora worried about a spate of harassment and vandalism incidents. Dr Santosh Adhikari is the Regional (North) Lead for the Children's University Tasmania, and the founding president of the Nepali Society of Northern Tasmania (NSNT). He has told SBS Nepali many have wondered about the response of authorities to these incidents in such a volatile political climate. "It's definitely been affecting the community to grow in any place, like when the government is not stable. For example, it takes a long time to make relationships with the politicians and the policymakers. So if the government changes so frequently it is hard to build a relationship and advocate on behalf of the community to the politicians." The appetite for political calm though is unlikely to be satisfied after this election. All opinion polls before the polls opened pointed to neither the Liberals nor Labor boosting their support enough to reach the 18-seat mark required for majority government. The Liberals held 14 seats, Labor 10, while the Greens held five and the remaining six were either independents or other parties. So far the Liberals have defied expectations. Essentially, that means the government is on track to keep all of their existing seats and perhaps pick up more while Labor could struggle to retain all of theirs. But the Labor leader has suggested they would try to govern in minority even if they finish with fewer seats than the Liberals. One of those Liberal seats has been claimed by former Coalition MP Bridget Archer, who lost her federal electorate seat in the last federal election. In Canberra, Ms Archer garnered attention for crossing the floor to vote against her own party several times - something she has already flagged she was keen on continuing in state politics. "I'm not going to be anybody's stooge or anybody's puppet." Jeremy Rockliff has also drawn a line in the sand. He has indicated he will not do any deals with the Greens to govern. "We cannot risk going back to the dark old days of a Labor Green government." An official result may be weeks away because of postal votes still to arrive, but counting suggests the incumbent government's vote has risen and Labor's has collapsed.
Which means for now, for some it's time to either commiserate, or celebrate.
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