Unanimity on Move to Restore House to 35 Seats

Media release – Cassy O’Connor MP, Greens Leader, 25 May 2022

Unanimous Vote Affirms the Need to Restore the House of Assembly to 35 seats

In a hugely significant vote, all parties and Members in the Tasmania House of Assembly have agreed the House needs to reverse the 1998 cut in numbers and be restored to 35 seats at the next election.

In our Private Members Time today, the Greens moved for the House to give its in-principle support to improve democracy and good governance in Tasmania and restore the numbers to 35.

Across the Chamber, speakers agreed Tasmanians will be better served by a larger Parliament and a deeper talent pool for the Ministry, and they will deserve stronger representation at the community level.

Restoration has the support of a broad range of community and business organisations, including the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Tasmanian Council of Social Services.

During the debate, Premier Rockliff confirmed his intention to introduce legislation to restore the House. This is a mark of great courage and a Premier who is prepared to do the right thing, even if it’s not necessarily going to be popular.

The Greens currently have a Bill before the House to restore the numbers by simply reversing the 1998 cut to the numbers.

We will be encouraging the Premier to draft legislation that reflects ours, retaining the current system of five seats – Braddon, Bass, Lyons, Clark and Franklin – with seven members to be elected in each seat at the next election.

Media release – Jeremy Rockliff, Premier, 25 May 2022

Restoring the size of the Tasmanian Parliament

I have said as Premier that I will lead a courageous government, a government that is accountable and operates with integrity.

Our Government has always said we support an increase in the size of Parliament.

Our priorities – right now – are to continue our significant investment into health, education, and housing as well as the vital job of improving safety for children and women.

However, I accept that we need a functional Parliament, and importantly, a functional Committee system.

I do not suspect it will be a popular issue.

When things need fixing, we need to have the courage to fix them.

And so today, I can confirm that the Tasmanian Liberal Government will introduce a Bill by the end of this year, to restore the numbers from 25 to 35 seats in the House of Assembly, which would come into effect at the next state election.

Because ultimately this is about ensuring the Tasmanian Parliament remains in the best shape to deliver the best outcomes for Tasmanians.

Media release – Kristie Johnston, independent Member for Clark, 25 May 2022

Statement on the Restoration of Parliament

I warmly welcome this afternoon’s announcement by Premier Rockliff that his Government will introduce a bill to restore the size of the House of Assembly to 35 by the end of the year.

I acknowledge the Tasmanian Greens for initiating the motion for in principle support, and the Tasmanian Labor Opposition for supporting it.

What I witnessed this afternoon was political parties putting politics aside for a moment to doing the right thing. That is how it should be.

It is widely acknowledged that the move to reduce the parliament in 1998 from 35 to 25 members was a mistake.

It has impacted on the parliament’s ability to function, unsustainable ministerial workloads, and the ability of committees to scrutinise issue that matter to Tasmanians.

I look forward to seeing the detail of the bill but this should be a straightforward matter of reversing a previous bad decision.