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2024 Tasmanian government formation

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Parliamentary government formation in Tasmania

Following the results of the 2024 Tasmanian state election, which resulted in a hung parliament with the Liberal Party winning the most seats, the incumbent Liberal government, led by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, will negotiate with independents and the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) to seek confidence and supply to form a minority government for the party's fourth consecutive term in office.

The Labor opposition, led by Opposition Leader Rebecca White, will not form government. White conceded defeat the day after the election, stating that Labor could not realistically form a government, even with the support of the Greens, led by Rosalie Woodruff. White also resigned as Labor leader after leading the party to defeat for a third time under her leadership. She was succeeded by Franklin MP Dean Winter, who was elected unopposed to the position.

Background

Further information: Results of the 2024 Tasmanian state election

The 2024 state election delivered a hung parliament, with no party winning a majority of seats. 18 seats are required for a majority in the 35-seat House of Assembly.

Potential alliances

Before White conceded defeat, many proposals had been considered possible. One potential alliance was the "traffic light alliance" or the "traffic light coalition", which was a hypothetical alliance or coalition between Labor, the Greens and the JLN. The hypothetical alliance or coalition's name is derived from the colours of the three parties, which are the colours used on traffic lights: red (Labor), yellow (JLN) and green (Greens), similar to Germany's traffic light coalition.

Rockliff government formation

Due to Labor having conceded, the Rockliff Liberal government continued governing Tasmania for another four-year-term, with Rockliff remaining Premier. At the time of the election, Tasmania was the only state with a Liberal premier. Rockliff ruled out working with the Greens, and ruled out forming a coalition government as that would require some crossbenchers to be given cabinet portfolios. He also stated that he will not compromise on his 2030 Strong Plan policy. On 10 April 2024, the three elected Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) MPs announced they had reached a deal to support the Rockliff Government on matters of confidence and supply for an initial 12 month period. The second Rockliff ministry was sworn in the following day with Independent MP David O'Byrne providing written assurance of confidence and supply, giving the Liberal party the numbers required to form government. Ultimately, both O'Byrne and fellow independent Kristie Johnston signed confidence and supply agreements with the government, giving it 19 of the 35 votes on the floor of the parliament.

The JLN-Liberal arrangement lasted in its original form for only four months, as two of the JLN MPs, Rebekah Pentland and Miriam Beswick, were expelled from the party by party leader Jacqui Lambie, who alleged the two MPs no longer represented the "values of accountability, transparency and integrity". Both Pentland and Beswick stated they intended to remain in parliament as independents and issued a joint statement pledging to sign a new confidence and supply agreement with the government.

On 16 September 2024, the sole remaining member of the JLN in parliament, Andrew Jenner, confirmed he was not signing a confidence and supply deal with the Liberal government after the last one fell through.

References

  1. https://www.themercury.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TMWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.themercury.com.au%2Fnews%2Ftasmania%2Ftasmanian-state-election-2024-liberal-party-prepare-to-form-government-with-lambie-network-independents%2Fnews-story%2F06c134f6c0fff7f3cc1f8a3752281e5f&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium
  2. Holmes, Adam (24 March 2024). "Labor concedes Tasmanian election, leaving Liberals to negotiate with new crossbench". ABC News. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  3. Killick, David (10 April 2024). "Labor's Dean Winter elected unopposed as party leader replacing Rebecca White after election loss". The Mercury. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  4. ^ Morton, Adam (24 March 2024). "Liberal minority rule, Lambie alliance or Labor 'traffic light' coalition: where to now for Tasmanian politics?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  5. Killick, David (10 April 2024). "Jacqui Lambie Network MPs seal 12 month deal with the Liberal Party in king-making deal". The Mercury. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  6. "Newest Tasmanian Liberal Government officially sworn in at Government House ceremony". Pulse Tasmania. 11 April 2024.
  7. Ethan James (12 April 2024). "Final minority Liberal government deal not yet signed". Australian Associated Press.
  8. Adam Holmes (24 April 2024). "Premier Jeremy Rockliff seals deals with key independents to prop up Tasmanian Liberal government". ABC News.
  9. Adam Holmes (24 August 2024). "Jacqui Lambie Network kicks out MPs Pentland, Beswick from Tasmanian party". ABC News.
  10. Rachael Ward (25 August 2024). "Ousted MPs vow to ink new deal with minority premier". CBR City News.
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