Latest news with #crossbench
ABC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
As Tasmania waits to find out who will form the next state government, here are the priorities of the new parliament's independents
Tasmania has elected another large crossbench that once again might equal or outnumber Labor Party members. Regardless of which major party forms government, they will need support from some or most of these politicians. The Liberal Party has the easier job when it comes to making up the numbers, but Labor has more in common with them. With negotiations underway, most of the independents are keeping tight-lipped on what they might be seeking, so what do we know about their priorities? Kristie Johnston was first elected as an independent in the 2021 election. This time around, she's had a massive swing towards her. Ms Johnston has been a fierce anti-stadium critic and has regularly raised concerns about the impact of pokies on her constituents. She even introduced a bill to the last parliament that would've forced gambling companies to repay money that had been stolen to put through poker machines. She's also used her time in parliament to raise awareness about the greyhound racing industry, and push for greater transparency and accountability around a range of issues including the budget and the stadium. Ms Johnston said the state has some very big decisions in front of it, and she wants to understand what the leaders are offering, particularly when it comes to budget repair. "What I want to see is someone after the election, after listening to what the people have said, is to come up with a clear plan," she said. "Treasury in their own PEFO report have indicated that we need to look at a number of factors to address the budget crisis. "The expenditure side, but also the revenue side, and they simply said looking at economic growth is not going to be enough to fix the issue. Speaking on election night, Ms Johnston said she wanted the major parties to do a better job at listening to and collaborating with the crossbench. "We need to see a respectful mature parliament that's respectful of everyone's voices." She has confirmed she would not want a ministry in a power-sharing government. Peter George is best known as an anti-salmon campaigner, having been the spokesperson for Neighbours of Fishfarming for years. While he leant into his anti-salmon reputation during the campaign, it certainly wasn't the only thing he spoke about. He was vocal in his opposition to the proposed Macquarie Point AFL stadium, and rolled out a variety of policies addressing concerns about health, housing and education. Like most of the independents and The Greens, Mr George wants to see a strengthened Integrity Commission with public hearings. He also wants to end native forest logging, crack down on short-stay accommodation, and address the state's soaring debt. "We have 5,000 people in this very small state … waiting to get decent roofs over their heads, we have a health system that's sort of tottering and teetering under the weight of demand, and we have an education system that's turning out functional illiteracy of somewhere close to 50 per cent. "Those are important things that we need to deal with. "I want to hear about that, and I want to see a parliament of 35 people roll up their sleeves and do some serious work across political lines." Mr George said he wants to hear what the parties' plans are for "rebuilding Tasmania's future" but so far his dealings with them have not won him over. "One area of concern is that Labor and Liberal seem to have drawn lines in the sand saying we won't talk about this, we're going to insist on that," he posted on a video on Facebook. "Well, that's not how minority government works, that's certainly not how collaboration works, so slight warning there, but we'll deal with this down the track." North West coaster Craig Garland received a massive jump in his primary vote this election. The fisherman was perhaps best known for his views on salmon farming before he was elected to parliament in 2024 — and he has certainly peppered the government with a lot of questions about the industry. But he has also spoken out on integrity and was so concerned about the budget, he was prepared to vote against it. This time around, Mr Garland wants a seat at the table. He wants to be included in budget repair and the development of policy. Speaking on election night, Mr Garland said "the focus has to flip". "The domestic violence in the North West Coast. We have four beds to deal with women fleeing domestic violence. One hundred and fifty women turned away, 147 children, and we're talking about building the biggest stadium." Mr Garland has spoken to both leaders but has yet to discuss any sort of policies or requests. "There's a lot of talk, and then in the same breath I hear, 'We're not moving on salmon, we're not moving on native forest logging,'" he said. Mr Garland is opposed to Hobart's waterfront stadium, which likely helped his vote in the seat of Braddon, and he is no fan of the proposed undersea electricity and data interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria, known as Marinus Link. A Labor Party veteran turned independent, David O'Byrne managed to make it work during the last parliament with Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff's minority government. He was one of the few crossbenchers who did not support the no-confidence motion in the premier. Speaking after the election about his dealings with the leaders, Mr O'Byrne said he is "not a transactional politician". He does not have "a shopping list of issues" and is instead focused on who could offer the most functional parliament. "My view is we need to get on with governing, we need to find someone who can not only get the numbers on the floor of parliament for the first vote, but can sustain those numbers for a long period of time," he said. In terms of his core issues, they are unsurprisingly Labor core issues — health, housing and the cost of living. In the last parliament, he spent a lot of time questioning the government about the ongoing staffing and reliability issues facing Metro Tasmania, various women's healthcare issues, and TasNetworks' wage negotiations. His bill to amend the Family Violence Act to include the abuse of animals passed parliament last year. He also tabled a bill to introduce Industrial Manslaughter laws, but it was superseded by Labor. Mr O'Byrne is the only crossbencher who supports the stadium. The Greens are the party neither the Liberals, nor Labor, wants to deal with — but having won five seats, they may not be easily ignored. Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff has made it clear that in a balance of power situation, she would do all she could to stop the stadium from being built. "We've been really strong. We're going to fight and do everything we can to pile on the pressure to stop this stadium. "We know that's what's needed. The budget's in a desperate situation. We will not support cuts to essential services." Other things on the Greens' agenda include a strengthened Integrity Commission, something Labor has voiced support for in the past, and they want to see a Treaty with Tasmania's First Nations, another policy Labor is on board with. They are also likely to try and seek some improvement for renters while clamping down on short stay accommodation. The party also wants to keep pushing the major parties to find new revenue for the budget. They would like to see salmon farming companies pay some royalties for the use of Tasmania's waterways, and increased mining royalties to bring Tasmania into line with other jurisdictions. The Greens will not hold the balance of power if the Liberals form a minority government as there will be at least four other crossbenchers they could rely on to get votes through. Labor will likely have to deal with the Greens, if it wants to govern with just 10 of its own MPs, but it will need some form of confidence and supply guarantee from the minor party. That does not mean there will necessarily be any trade on policy or concessions from Labor, but the two parties did combine forces several times in the last parliament to pass their own legislation, including introducing Industrial Manslaughter laws and lowering the political disclosure threshold to $1,000. As counting continues in the state election, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Carlo Di Falco does not even know if he has been elected in the seat of Lyons, but that hasn't stopped him from getting calls from the two major party leaders. He describes himself as a "former blue collar worker" and "not much of a public speaker". Mr DI Falco said that, like the name suggests, he will be fighting for the rights of rural Tasmanians. "The phone coverage of a lot of the Tasmanians that are missing out. Even where I live in Forcett, not that far from Sorell, I've got really patchy coverage where I am," he said. "We need to improve that." Mr Di Falco said there were also a lot of issues with "social cohesion". "That's why I'm pushing for more funding for Neighbourhood Houses because sometimes when people's lives go to custard, probably the best place to go is somewhere where you can talk to somebody in the community." Mr Di Falco is pro development but he is not too keen on the proposed AFL stadium on Hobart's waterfront. "I'd be taking that money and increasing Hydro storage. If you want to increase wealth, that comes off the back of cheap, reliable energy."
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Small band of independents offer Liberals and Labor a path to power in Tasmania
The independents who hold Tasmania's political future in their hands have indicated they could support a premier from either major party. The incumbent Liberals claimed 14 seats at Saturday's snap election, ahead of Labor on nine. But the result leaves both parties short of the 18-seat mark required for majority government. The Liberal leader, Jeremy Rockliff, has begun courting crossbench support in his bid to return as premier, while Labor's Dean Winter has left the door ajar to governing with the five-seat Greens plus independents. It could take more than a week for three in-doubt seats to be confirmed via preferences and any minority agreements might not be arranged until after the numbers are settled. Rockliff has said he would go to the governor after the count finished to ask for his government to be recommissioned. 'I do have a mandate, given we've got the largest number of seats,' he told reporters on Monday. 'For Dean Winter to govern, he'll need to do a deal with the Greens for which he does not have a mandate from the Tasmanian people.' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Rockliff said he has had good conversations with all members of the crossbench and would have more talks in the next week or two. Winter, who has also reached out to the independents, has said he would not do a deal with the Greens to govern but would accept their votes of confidence and supply. There are three re-elected independents – Kristie Johnston, Craig Garland and David O'Byrne – while Peter George has been voted in for the first time. One of the undecided seats could go to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party, expanding the crossbench. Johnston, Garland and George are opposed to the Liberal- and Labor-backed $945m AFL stadium. Garland and George also oppose commercial salmon farming, an industry supported by the two major parties. Garland, who scraped into parliament at the 2024 election, more than doubled his first-preference vote. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion He said he was prepared to back a Liberal or Labor premier but did not indicate whether he would seek any policy concessions. 'We're just waiting for the dust to settle and see where the numbers end up,' he said. 'There are going to be some interesting conversations, put it that way.' George does not plan to sign any formal agreements and said he was open to Rockliff or Winter as premier. 'Let's hear what they have to say and let's hear what their plans are for rebuilding Tasmania's future,' he told the ABC. Johnston, who did not sign a formal agreement with the previous minority Liberal government, has indicated she would take the same approach and consider issues on merit. O'Byrne, a former Labor leader and stadium supporter, is also open to Rockliff or Winter as premier, noting all MPs needed to collaborate. 'It's not about going in with a shopping list of demands … that will be problematic,' he said. Rockliff's proclaimed mandate 'wasn't clear cut' and it was about who could preside over a functioning parliament, O'Byrne said.
ABC News
20-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Dean Winter, Jeremy Rockliff both start talks with crossbenchers as they look to form government
The Tasmanian Liberal and Labor leaders have reached out to the crossbench to discuss working together in the new parliament, following an election that returned largely the same result as the last. The Liberals are predicted to win at least 14 seats, Labor a maximum of 10. To reach a majority the parties would have needed to win 18 seats. Both are now hoping to form government with the support of members of the crossbench. At eight seats short, that is a pretty big task for Labor, but their advantage is that the crossbench will lean heavily progressive. Addressing the media on Sunday morning, Labor Leader Dean Winter said he would give Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff the first opportunity to demonstrate he had the support of the crossbench. "We need to see, wait and get the final results, but over the course of the next few days, we'll be speaking to crossbenchers and making sure they understand where Labor stands," Mr Winter said. "But what I … do want to reiterate is that Tasmanian Labor will not do deals with the Greens. I repeated that hundreds of times during the election campaign and I will not change." Mr Winter said Labor was not going to go back on its principles, but he would collaborate with crossbenchers and treat them with respect. "Tasmanian Labor believes in jobs — safe, secure, well paid jobs — and we support traditional industries that have been supporting Tasmanian regional communities," he said. "I've already been speaking to the business community this morning to reassure them that Tasmanian Labor won't be changing from our support for those things, but we will seek to collaborate better with the crossbench where we can find common interests. Mr Winter said he had spoken to a number of crossbenchers, but had not reached out to Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff. The Greens are expected to hold five seats in the new parliament. At best there will be six other members of the crossbench who Mr Winter could work with. When pushed on how he would govern without securing support from the Greens, Mr Winter continued to repeat that he would not do a deal with them, however when asked if he would accept their support with nothing conceded he was less clear. "The Greens make their own choices," he said. "They've made their choice to vote no-confidence in Jeremy Rockcliff and that's a matter for them." Premier Jeremy Rockliff has also been making his own calls to the crossbench. "I've reached out to potential crossbench members today, including conversations and my view is that the crossbench in the cold, hard light of day will recognise the party being the Liberal Party with the most number of seats are able to form a cabinet," he said on Sunday. "They recognise that over the course of the last 16 months since that March 2024 election that I have reached across the chamber, I have listened. "Yes, I've learnt a lot as well, of course, and my resolve to working collaboratively with crossbenchers has only been enhanced and strengthened by my experience over the course of the last 12 months." Mr Rockliff said while he wanted to work with the crossbench, he would not be compromising any key commitments or principles. "Not every single member of parliament can have 100 per cent of what they want 100 per cent of the time, and Tasmanians would look very poorly on any individual member of parliament, whether they be in a political party or not, that held the parliament to ransom," he said. Mr Rockliff said he told crossbenchers he wanted to make this parliament work and that Tasmanians wanted an end to the political games. He argued crossbenchers should support his party. "We all want a stable parliament and a stable parliament with a government that has been re-elected with at least the same number of seats is the way forward." Mr Rockliff did not concede that he failed to manage the crossbench in the last parliament. He said he would wait until all the votes are counted before going to the Governor to ask for his government to be recommissioned.
ABC News
19-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
New independent MP Peter George calls out Tasmania's major parties as he joins a progressive crossbench
An anti-salmon farm independent candidate is set to be elected to Tasmania's parliament — as part of a crossbench that could pose even more challenges for the Liberals and Labor. Former ABC journalist Peter George will be elected in Franklin, describing the two major parties as "a bunch of squabblers" who need to engage more constructively with the crossbench. With counting continuing, the crossbench could be five Greens MP, Mr George, progressive independents Kristie Johnston in Clark and Craig Garland in Braddon, and former Labor leader David O'Byrne. The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate in Lyons, Carlo Di Falco, is also a chance of being elected. That would make a 10-member crossbench in the 35-seat lower house — nine from the progressive side of politics, and one conservative. The Liberals could end with 15 or 16 seats, and Labor with 10, with 18 needed for majority. Mr George said the Liberals and Labor need to change how they approach state politics. "We need some maturity from those two old parties to negotiate a way through that gives us four years of stable government for the benefit of all Tasmanians, not for party political interests." Mr George said he would focus on "budget repair, social repair, island repair and integrity repair". The likely returned Braddon independent MP Craig Garland supported the no-confidence motion against Premier Jeremy Rockliff. He said he wanted to ensure the next parliament could go the distance. "If Jeremy is the premier, we've already had discussions," he said. We've tried to push things along, it didn't work, but now we have to make it work. "There's no other choice than to make it work." Independent candidate David O'Byrne has served in Tasmania's parliament for 11 years, and said independents should not come to the major parties with a list of conditions for their support. "I think that becomes transactional," he said. "If you have a list of 10 issues that you want to prosecute, what happens if those 10 issues are resolved? There will be issues in months or years to come. "I won't make the perfect the enemy of the good, I will allow a government to form, and I won't be supporting frivolous no-confidence motions regardless of who forms government." The last election saw three Jacqui Lambie Network MPs elected. This election two ran with the Nationals, and one as an independent. All three have been defeated.
ABC News
19-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
How could crossbench candidates shape Tasmania's next government?
For Stateline, Adam Langenberg takes a look at how crossbench candidates could shape Tasmania's next government
