Latest news with #TasmanianGreens
ABC News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Liberals call on Labor to concede Tasmanian election and bid to form minority government
The Tasmanian Liberals are calling on Labor to concede defeat as both parties continue discussions with crossbenchers to form government following Saturday's state election. Speaking on ABC Radio Hobart, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said Labor leader Dean Winter and his party "have completely gone to ground". "Nobody knows about the secret dealings with the Tasmanian Greens. He's said he would not do a deal with the Greens, he can only be in government with a deal with the Greens," Mr Rockliff said. It could still be more than a week before Tasmanians know the final makeup of the next parliament, but so far the Liberals have 14 seats, Labor 10, the Greens five and there are four independents — Kristie Johnston, David O'Byrne, Craig Garland and Peter George. Two seats remain in doubt. Neither of the major parties will achieve the 18 seats needed to govern in majority. Braddon Liberal MP Felix Ellis said Mr Winter "must abandon his continuing arrogant push to grab power". Mr Winter, who has not spoken publicly since Sunday, will give a media conference later today. Labor has also been contacted for comment. Independent David O'Byrne, a former Labor leader whose seat is secure in Franklin, said he was in discussions with both Mr Rockliff and Mr Winter. He told ABC Radio Hobart he met with Mr Winter in person on Monday — the first time he said he had met with Mr Winter for "a number of years". Mr O'Byrne said he would meet with Mr Winter again on Friday. Mr O'Byrne said while it was "possible" for Labor to form a government, it would be difficult with just 10 seats. "I was in a parliament of 25 [seats] and we [Labor] had 10 members and we formed government and that was very difficult with 25. With 35 [seats] it's a far bigger challenge." He said there needed to be respect both ways. "Whilst the major parties need to be respectful that independents were elected and they need to listen to the independents, also the independents need to be respectful of the fact that close to 70 per cent of people voted for one of the three major parties." He said he would not be "horse trading" on policy as part of negotiations with the parties. Mr O'Byrne said he would provide a letter of intent around confidence and supply, and beyond that would consider each issue on its merits. "So it's not a blank cheque from me," he said. Mr Rockliff said the previous parliament, in which the Liberals governed in minority with support from some crossbenchers, had been "working well". He also responded to questions about Tasmania's budget — the dire state of which was one of the main reasons Labor's no-confidence motion in Mr Rockliff succeeded and paved the way for the early election. A Treasury report found Tasmania was headed for $13 billion of debt by 2028, $3 billion more than the government predicted in the June budget. "That's what they [Treasury] did say and that's because they weren't taking into account … our budget, so our budget was better than those projections because we had savings within our budget, and sensible savings at that," Mr Rockliff said. He also repeated the Liberals had no plans to raise taxes and charges to increase revenue. "We haven't committed to that because raising taxes in a cost of living challenging times like this is not the way to do it."
West Australian
17-07-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Tasmanian Greens buy AFL CEO Andrew Dillon a flight to Hobart as stadium row escalates ahead of election
The Tasmanian Greens party have chipped in to buy a flight ticket for AFL CEO Andrew Dillon in their latest publicity stunt to draw attention to the state's controversial proposed stadium. The $1 billion Macquarie Point stadium has been a sticking point for the Greens, who are vehemently opposed to the project despite it being a non-negotiable for the AFL to expand to the state. Despite bipartisan support from the major parties, the Greens could be crucial given another hung parliament is projected after Premier Jeremy Rockliff was forced to call a snap election for July 19. It could see the stadium remain in political limbo with the Greens urging Dillon to speak to locals on election day. 'Since the beginning of the stadium saga, the AFL has spent all their time talking to Liberal - and more recently Labor - politicians and ignoring the Tasmanian community. That needs to change. The AFL CEO should front up and listen to Tasmanians,' the Greens' statement read. 'The AFL CEO can come down, head out to some polling booths, and hear for himself what people think about the stadium. He could even head along to the Hawks vs Power game in the afternoon and remind himself of just how good a place York Park is to play football. 'We know Andrew Dillon is a busy guy, but given the huge turmoil the AFL's insistence on a stadium has caused for Tasmania, surely the least he can do is show up? 'While he might not be used to flying Jetstar, we've bought him extra leg room to make the trip a bit more like what he's probably accustomed to.' Hawthorn will face Port Adelaide at Launceston's University of Tasmania Stadium on Saturday . The original agreement between the state and the AFL was for the stadium to be finished in time for the 2029 season, with the state set to cop a $4.5 million penalty if it's not half finished by 2027. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged the state to get on with the project and look at the wider benefits of a team. 'We support a stadium, not just because of what it will do for AFL, but for what it will do in Hobart,' the Prime Minister told the Two Good Sports podcast. The federal government has allocated $240m for the project, while the AFL has tipped in $15m for the stadium.
Perth Now
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Greens play political football over Tassie stadium
More than half of agents say drug use is an issue for their players. The Tasmanian Greens party have chipped in to buy a flight ticket for AFL CEO Andrew Dillon in their latest publicity stunt to draw attention to the state's controversial proposed stadium. The $1 billion Macquarie Point stadium has been a sticking point for the Greens, who are vehemently opposed to the project despite it being a non-negotiable for the AFL to expand to the state. Despite bipartisan support from the major parties, the Greens could be crucial given another hung parliament is projected after Premier Jeremy Rockliff was forced to call a snap election for July 19. It could see the stadium remain in political limbo with the Greens urging Dillon to speak to locals on election day. 'Since the beginning of the stadium saga, the AFL has spent all their time talking to Liberal - and more recently Labor - politicians and ignoring the Tasmanian community. That needs to change. The AFL CEO should front up and listen to Tasmanians,' the Greens' statement read. 'The AFL CEO can come down, head out to some polling booths, and hear for himself what people think about the stadium. He could even head along to the Hawks vs Power game in the afternoon and remind himself of just how good a place York Park is to play football. 'We know Andrew Dillon is a busy guy, but given the huge turmoil the AFL's insistence on a stadium has caused for Tasmania, surely the least he can do is show up? 'While he might not be used to flying Jetstar, we've bought him extra leg room to make the trip a bit more like what he's probably accustomed to.' Hawthorn will face Port Adelaide at Launceston's University of Tasmania Stadium on Saturday . The original agreement between the state and the AFL was for the stadium to be finished in time for the 2029 season, with the state set to cop a $4.5 million penalty if it's not half finished by 2027. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged the state to get on with the project and look at the wider benefits of a team. 'We support a stadium, not just because of what it will do for AFL, but for what it will do in Hobart,' the Prime Minister told the Two Good Sports podcast. The federal government has allocated $240m for the project, while the AFL has tipped in $15m for the stadium.
ABC News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Accidentally released document offers insight into Tasmania's Right to Information laws
Experts say access to information frameworks is "totally crucial" for maintaining trust in governments — and that trust can be undermined if governments have a tendency to not disclose information. Right to Information (RTI) — similar to Freedom of Information in other jurisdictions — gives members of the public legal rights to access public-interest information from the government. If working well, greater accountability and public trust could result, Johan Lidberg, an access to information researcher at Monash University, said. "A well-functioning [RTI] act and system act as a check and balance and accountability mechanism on how governments use their power," he said. A rare mistake in the government Department of Justice's redaction process meant a document was released to the ABC in full. It outlined the "stress" and "anxiety" of prison staff managing youth in watch houses. Children as young as 10 years old can be held in adult prison watch houses while awaiting police interview, court or bail, in conditions outlined by the Tasmanian custodial inspector and by correctional officers to a parliamentary inquiry earlier this year. The Tasmanian Greens have reiterated calls to end the detention of children in watch houses, while Liberal Party leader Jeremy Rockliff said the situation was "unacceptable". Labor leader Dean Winter called for improved transparency. Public authorities are meant to favour disclosing as much information as possible when dealing with RTI requests, Dr Lidberg said. RTI offices within government departments release information in line with legislation. There are exemptions permitting some types of information to not be released if they are first deemed outside the public interest or harmful to it, or "out of scope" of the RTI request. If the person requesting information is unhappy with the decision, they can request an internal review of it — and if still dissatisfied, an external review by the Tasmanian Ombudsman. The past two years have seen more than 80 per cent of external reviews result in the ombudsman changing or setting aside the public authority's decision. "This continues to reflect a very high percentage of errors in decision-making (though it is noted that some variations to decisions are of a minor nature)," the ombudsman wrote in its last annual report. In this case, the ABC was told exemptions used were "personal details of a person" and "internal deliberative material". Dr Lidberg said there were "no identifiers at all, so that whole exemption falls from releasing information". "I can't see why they would argue that this is not in the highest public interest," he said. But most redactions were made due to the information being "out of scope" of the journalist's request for "complaints, concerns or similar regarding children and young people being held in an adult remand facility". After reviewing the document, the ABC published a story on watch houses using information the department intended to black out due to being "out of scope" but, by accident, did not. See more details of the ABC's request, the information provided and relevant parts of the RTI Act, here. The department was asked to respond to Dr Lidberg's comment that the "personal details" exemption should not apply. The ABC also asked why it marked information "out of scope" that appeared to relate to its request. The department said: "A statement outlining the reasons for withholding information accompanies each decision." "If an applicant is dissatisfied with the decision they may seek a review which can be escalated to the ombudsman for external review if required," it said. The difficulties in accessing information in Tasmania have been previously reported on, with it more common for public authorities to refuse information in Tasmania than anywhere else in Australia. Dr Lidberg said resourcing of RTI offices was a major issue with RTI systems across Australia. Referencing skills gaps, backlogs and delays, the ombudsman said: "Tasmanians want, and deserve, an accountable and open government and a seeming lack of motivation to improve the RTI system is hindering that being achieved." The Tasmanian government also acknowledged this and other issues in its current efforts to improve the RTI framework. An independent review of Tasmania's RTI system was due on June 30 this year. However, it has been delayed a month due to the state election. Dr Lidberg said research of Australian RTI frameworks — albeit not Tasmania's — had also found instances of pressure being applied to withhold information. "When an RTI request is seen as controversial, the FOI [or RTI] officer then flags that to the coordinator, their supervisor, and it climbs up the chain, and quite often all the way to the political department," he said. "We have noted and there is evidence of pressure being put on FOI coordinators to use the exemption sections of the act to redact or not release information." The Department of Justice told the ABC there was no pressure on the RTI office when assessing its request. Dr Lidberg said governments could stop a "culture of secrecy" by addressing resourcing problems. Applying the laws appropriately depended on how important "leaders" thought public access to information was, he said. "We've seen multiple times with updates of acts and amendments and so on [that] when you change the letter of the law, it doesn't seem to affect culture as much," he said. He said healthy disclosure systems could be a "win-win" for governments. The ABC requested details of: "Complaints, concerns or similar regarding children and young people being held in an adult remand facility and related correspondence from 2022 to 2025." One 14-page document was given to the ABC titled "Engaging with Young People Training — Issues and Responses". It included a one-page introduction and then a table with two columns — one outlining staff-raised issues with dealing with young people in watch houses and the other with the department's written response to the issue. It was initially completely unredacted but with red outline boxes left around some sections, and then, minutes later a version with those boxes redacted was sent through in which almost all the document was redacted. The initial introduction as well as some sections on pages 2 and 3 were left unredacted. No staff or detainees were named in the document. The department said redactions were made according to the following parts of Tasmania's Right to Information Act: Exemptions subject to public interest test Section 35 — 'Internal deliberative information' I consider that disclosing the above listed items, which contain material compiled by departmental officers may contain information which is wrong or inaccurate — see clause (u) of Schedule 1. The material contains records of ongoing consultations between officers, including material which is deliberative in nature. It is also important to note that the material relates to exchanges by relatively junior Departmental employees and there is no information to indicate their views would be adopted as a formal policy. I also consider that the nature of the comments of Departmental officers are deliberate in nature and should not be disclosed. Officers must feel free to provide their opinions, advice and recommendations, and to participate openly in consultative and deliberative processes, in order for decision and action resulting from those processes to be robust. The overriding public interest consideration is the need to ensure that there is a frank exchange of views between officers when making decisions. The disclosure of consultations or deliberations would likely prevent such exchanges from occurring, with a consequent detrimental impact on good decision-making. Further, it would also lead to a reluctance to document the reasons for decision, with a consequent loss in transparency in the decision-making process. Section 36 — 'Personal information of a person' I consider that disclosing the personal information of members of the public would be detrimental to the interests of those persons — see clause (m) of Schedule 1. The personal information of people who have been held at a watch-house is not in the public domain and those persons might suffer discrimination by reason of their having been in these facilities if disclosed. As a consequence of the above, I am of the opinion that the factor favouring disclosure are outweighed by those against disclosure and it is not in the public interest to provide the personal information of a members of the public. 'Information out of scope' I consider that part of the material contains information which is out of scope of your request. The relevant material has been redacted and marked accordingly.
ABC News
04-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
No-confidence in Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff appears set to succeed
A no-confidence motion in Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff appears set to succeed, with the Tasmanian Greens saying they will support it. Labor Leader Dean Winter tabled a no-confidence motion in Premier Jeremy Rockliff on Tuesday, citing growing debt and the plan to cut jobs and state assets. Tasmanian Parliament sits at 10am. Follow the coverage live in our blog.
