Transcript of interview with Labor Leader Dean Winter, Parliament Lawns, Hobart, 10 April 2024.

Dean Winter

It’s a great honour for me to be elected as the Leader of the Labor Party today with Anita Dow as my Deputy. I’m really excited about Tasmania’s future and about the role that myself and my team are going to play in the next Parliament but also going forward.

Tasmanian Labor stands for jobs. That’s what we’ve stood for our entire existence. We stand for jobs in our in our regions, we stand for jobs in our public service because we understand that Labor governments are the best governments for Tasmania, and that’s what we want to form.

Our purpose as a party is to be in government. And we understand that for the past 10 years without Labor governments Tasmania has struggled. And we understand that with this new minority Parliament and the minority situation, we’ve already seen 5000 jobs lost. Tasmanian labour stands ready to work with this parliament to try and make Tasmania better but also to hold the Liberals to account to hold Jeremy Rockliff to account for the promises that he’s made during this election and to be a strong force in Tasmanian politics.

I want to reassure every Tasmanian that our main priority is jobs. Tasmanian Labor stands for not just any job, we stand for jobs that are safe, secure and well paid. The cost of living crisis isn’t just about the bills going up. It’s also about Tasmanians’ wages not going up with it. We need to see better wage growth. We need to see more jobs, secure jobs and safe jobs in this state. That’s what Labor has always stood for. That’s what every single part of this party wants to see. And that’s what we’re committed to doing for the course of this Parliament.

Journalist – Josh Duggan

How do you convince Tasmanians that Labor is ready to go?

Dean Winter

Well, we … Tasmanian Labor is ready to govern. We are ready though to hold this government to account in the first instance. That’s going to be our job. We have got a very interesting Parliament that’s been elected by Tasmanians. We’re yet to see what the Jacqui Lambie Network is going to do on key policy issues. But we understand having listened to their press conference that they they have some misgivings around our traditional industries.

I want to make sure that every Tasmanian working in agriculture and forestry knows that Tasmanian Labor supports then we support those industries as we always have, because we understand that it’s the regions in Tasmania that are driving our economy. We want to make sure that the instability that Jeremy Rockliff has delivered through this election result doesn’t impact them, doesn’t impact the certainty that Tasmanians have when they go to work.

Journalist – Josh Duggan

There’s some commentary that there’s not that much difference between the Liberal and Labor Party at of the moment. Is aiming squarely at jobs confirm that you guys are essentially looking ideologically at the same platform as the Liberals?

Dean Winter

We’re called the Labor Party, we’re the party of jobs. That’s where we came from. That’s what we’ve always stood for. And that’s what we will continue to stand for. But it’s not just about jobs, though.

It’s also about the services that flow on from that. We need to have a strong economy here in Tasmania so that we can provide the services that Tasmanians needs. There’s a health crisis in Tasmania. Our students are performing worse than they did in 2008. We have a housing crisis here. We understand that those that those services have been letting Tasmanians down. And that’s why we need to make sure that we’re there holding the government to account so that they do better in those areas, but also putting forward an alternative vision for Tasmanians.

Journalist – Josh Duggan

You’d have to admit that jobs, jobs jobs is very 2019 Scott Morrison areas.

Dean Winter

Jobs, jobs, jobs is very Labor party. That’s what we’ve stood for, for our entire existence.

Journalist – Josh Duggan

How does the Labor Party under your leadership look different from what it did under Rebecca White?

Dean Winter

Well, I think the question that I keep getting asked is ‘what does Labor stand for?’ And that’s not because of anything we’ve done. I just want to make sure that Tasmanians really understand and reminded what Tasmanian Labor does stand for. And we do stand for jobs. We stand for the economy, we stand for the regions. We want to make sure we’ve got a strong economy so that we can provide the services that Tasmanians desperately need and have been getting let down on from this Liberal government for 10 years now.

This is a 10-year-old Liberal government that wasn’t performing as a majority government. That went to minority, went to an election because they wouldn’t give CCTV cameras to John Tucker, and have delivered an even more unstable Parliament. We understand that we have a responsibility in this new Parliament to be responsible to hold the government to account and that’s the way we’ll be behaving.

Journalist – unidentified

Would you rule out governing in minority after the next election?

Dean Winter

We’re just we’re just dealing with this election that’s just been. We’ll answer those sort of questions when we get to the next election.

Journalist – Bob Burton

And how does Labor get to 18 seats?

Dean Winter

Labor gets to 18 seats by explaining to Tasmanians what we stand for. We stand for jobs, we stand for the economy, we stand for providing the services that flow on from that.

We have been the most successful political party, the most successful political force in Tasmania’s history, for very good reason. Because it’s Tasmanian Labor that build the hydro, Tasmanian Labor that built the first wind farms in Tasmania. We built Basslink. We built the gas pipeline. Tasmanian Labor is the party that has delivered jobs, has delivered the infrastructure that has grown our economy. And that’s what we want to get back to.

Journalist – Josh Duggan

How do you win the voters that are looking towards the Greens or more progressive options?

Dean Winter

Look, I had so many conversations, particularly in my electorate, in the south, in the Huon, with people who said that they were worried we will do a deal with the Greens. And what we have proven is that we won’t be doing a deal with the Greens. We didn’t do a deal with the Greens because fundamentally they don’t agree with the things that we believe in. We believe in jobs in our traditional industries, we believe in jobs in our regions, and the Greens want to shut those things down.

Journalist – unidentified

[inaudible] jobs [inaudible] the environment?

Dean Winter

Well, Tasmania has always been at the forefront of finding the right balance between jobs in the economy and the environment. We have world’s best practice when it comes to our forests and aquaculture industries, with mining. All of these things can be done in a way that’s well-balanced. And that’s what we want to focus on.

Journalist – Josh Duggan

It’s not about the Greens. It’s about Labor voters or those who may have voted Labor that are looking to independents or more progressive parties. How do you win them over?

Dean Winter

Well, by being accountable, by having integrity. What this government has really failed to do is deal with these integrity matters that continue to plague them, issues that are still unresolved. Issues around the referral of Guy Barnett to Privileges. Issues around Jeremy Rockliff refusing to table documents in Parliament. Issues around the Deputy Premier giving a full police funeral to somebody who was alleged to be a paedophile.

These things need to be dealt with in the Parliament, they need to be dealt with transparently. The Commission of Inquiry and the response from the government to that has been abysmal. They hid Jenny Gale from the scrutiny of the Parliament for far too long. These issues are unresolved, and they need to be resolved by the new Parliament.

Journalist – Bob Burton

Issues with jobs and integrity issues you just referred to, they were all actively campaigned on this last election. What makes you think that saying the same again is going to get a different result?

Dean Winter

Well, we understand that Labor’s got to change. We understand that since 20 … we haven’t … there are 18-year-olds who weren’t actually alive the last time that Labor won majority government, it has been a long time. And so we understand that we can’t keep doing the same things.

But at the same time, you’ll understand that we’ve just held our first first Caucus meeting. And so we of course will do our job, which is to hold this government to account. But as you as we move forward towards the next election, which might be only a short period of time away, you’ll see a Labor party that is ready to go and make sure that we’ve got a vision that Tasmanians can understand, can get behind and can fight for.

Journalist – Imogen Elliott

Was the focus of today’s Caucus meeting on the leadership. But did you also discuss the future of your major policies? Will there be any change on your position?

Dean Winter

Today was about thanking Rebecca for all of her work, about comparing notes about how the election was run and about how we go forward and also electing the new leadership team. But we are going to have, we’ll be having more Caucus meetings as you’d expect going forward. I’ve got to do a lot of work around making sure that we’ve got a Shadow Cabinet that’s ready to go as well and holds the government’s new Cabinet to account and we’ll be announcing that likely next week.

Journalist – Bob Burton

Why does Labor think Jacqui Lambie Network did so well given their lack of detail on policy?

Dean Winter

Look Jacqui’s an interesting character and I don’t know Jacqui very well. But when she arrived at an event that I was at, people were taking selfies with her. She’s a bit of a celebrity. But her candidates are not Jacqui Lambie, and from what I’ve seen, they appear to have very different views from one another. And I’m not sure Tasmanians had full understanding of what they were voting for.

But we’re looking forward to meeting those Jacqui Lambie new MPs. I haven’t met them yet, looking forward to working with them. As long as every Member of Parliament goes into that parliament with the best interest of Tasmania at heart, and I think everybody will, I think we can get good results for Tasmania.

Journalist – Adam Langenberg

You were Labor’s attack dog in the last Parliament. Is that a role you’re going to continue in this Parliament or will you be more of a statesman in style?

Dean Winter

I don’t know what to make of that Langers. Look, often … my job in the Parliament has been to hold the government to account and I’ve been very frustrated with the government particularly around energy. I have a view that Tasmania’s big economic opportunity going forward is in energy and we had a government that has let so many opportunities slip when it comes to this.

We could be the hydrogen hub for the whole country, but yet we’re unable to get anything started. We don’t have enough energy to actually grow our economy here in the state. So yes, I’ve been frustrated, but my whole team has been frustrated and we’ll be holding the government to account as hard as we have.

Journalist – Adam Langenberg

A term of blood and thunder? You’ll be an angry Opposition Leader?

Dean Winter

Look, I’ll just be myself.

Journalist – Josh Duggan

Jeremy Rockliff is announcing his Cabinet today. It looks like it might include Jane Howlett and Eric Abetz. Are you confident that going at politicians, rather than looking broadly at policies, is a winning path for the Labor Party? You went very hard last term at Guy Barnett in doing that role. Julie Sladden nearly got into Parliament. Are you confident that that personality politics is the way forward?

Dean Winter

Well it’s all about outcomes for Tasmania, isn’t it? That’s what we get judged on but you do need to have a united team and we’re really happy to have a united team today. I’m not sure that Jeremy Rockliff can say the same. Eric Abetz has already threatened to cross the floor on issues that are important to him before we got to an election. He appears to be now at war with Jeremy Rockliff through Brendan Blomeley and the saga there and yet now he’s joining the cabinet. I think it’s important for Tasmania that we have certainty and stability going forward. The first certainty and stability that Jeremy Rockliff needs to look at is his own Caucus room.

Journalist – Josh Duggan

How do you bridge the gap to parts of the Labor Party that three years ago were opposed to you being preselected?

Dean Winter

I’ve spent the last three years working with our whole party on making sure that we had a really strong energy policy in particular, but that we’re holding the government to account. I know that we’ve got good relationships right across our Caucus, through our affiliates and the broader party. And I also know talking to our members, that they just want to win again.

Our membership hasn’t seen a victory night like 2006 for a very, very long time. They want to win elections again, they want to feel like we’ve got a Labor government that’s delivering for them and their communities. That’s why they sign up and participate. The purpose of the Labor Party is to be in government and deliver good Labor policies for Tasmania. That’s what we want to do.

Journalist – Adam Langenberg

So that resentment of left wing unions towards you in blocking your preselection in 2021, that’s gone now?

Dean Winter

I want to work with everybody. And I’m really excited to work with the whole party. I’ll be sitting down with our union affiliates, all of our affiliates of our Labor party, and Labor members.

Irrespective of what happens the first thing that I need to do is go out and reconnect with not just our Labor supporters and unions, but also with Tasmanians right across the state. I’ve been really lucky in the Racing portfolio over the last three years to get to different parts of the state that otherwise might not have. And I’ve enjoyed doing that. And I’m actually really looking forward to getting around Tasmania’s regions and talking to people about what their issues are.

We have to accept that we need to change because what we’ve been doing hasn’t been delivering Labor governments. And the first thing we need to do is go out and listen. And that’s what we’re doing starting from tomorrow. My first place I go to tomorrow will be Queenstown, where I’m from, go and talk to workers there in the agriculture and mining industries about their jobs and making sure they understand where Labor stands on those really important issues.

Journalist – unidentified

[inaudible]

Dean Winter

Oh, no, we’ve all been listening. But I guess there’s … at every election when you failed, and unfortunately for us, we only won 10 seats, you do need to go back and listen and make sure that what we’re saying is in line with people’s expectations and that we really understand what their challenges are. Door knocking is the great way to listen to people. And we’ve all been doing a lot of that.

Cost of living and health and housing were the big issues that kept coming up. And so we’re pretty aware of that. It’s also about getting across the whole state. Issues in my electorate of Franklin are going to be different to the ones in in Brandon, Bass, Lyons and Clark and so I need to make sure I’m getting around to everyone in Tasmania.

Journalist – Bob Burton

Tasmanians voted for minority government. Why doesn’t Labor accept that and negotiate with the crossbench to attempt to form a minority government?

Dean Winter

The voters are always right. And they were right this time, they were right every election before. And so we do accept the election result. But we also accept that having own only 10 members doesn’t put us in a position where we can form a government.

Journalist – Imogen Elliott

Do you think coming from the right faction means that restoring those relationships with affiliated unions is going to be a challenge?

Dean Winter

No.

Tasmanian Times

The JLN members said the other day that they were open to voting for legislation put forward by Labor and other parties or the crossbench so is there anything in particular on Labor’s legislative agenda for this Parliament.

Dean Winter

Our number one job is to hold the government to account. Our agenda is an agenda that we will deliver in government. It’s not an agenda that we can deliver from Opposition with 10 seats. But obviously, where we’ve got an opportunity to make Tasmania better to do good work, then we’ll try and work with the crossbench colleagues and even the government to make that happen.

Something that I’m looking forward to and has been held back by the government now because of this election is the changes in the racing industry, which are so desperately needed for the 1500 or so workers that work in that industry, that have been delayed now. We need to get back to the Parliament making sure that we’re putting those that legislation through that’s going to have bipartisan support, so that we can support those that industry that’s been plagued with scandal for the past 12-18 months.

Journalist – Adam Langenberg

Who’s to blame for Labor failing to connect with voters. If as you’re saying it’s not anything Rebecca did, who’s to blame?

Dean Winter

We haven’t won majority election since 2006. So there’s no one no one person to blame, that issue is for us as a movement. We need to make sure that we’re connecting with Tasmanians. And that’s the responsibility that I hold. But our whole team and our whole movement needs to understand, we all want to win government. That’s the purpose of our party, we need to do better to do that.

Journalist – Adam Langenberg

Is is state secretaries, is it unions? Is it [inaudible]

Dean Winter

No one’s to blame. Tasmanian Labor hasn’t been in government for 10 years now. We haven’t won majority government for 18. And that’s a collective responsibility and something we all have to own, we have to try and do better. The thing that binds the Labor party together, though, is jobs. That’s the thing. That’s what we’re all about. And we want to focus on that over the course of this term in Parliament.

Journalist – Josh Duggan

Are you having a comprehensive review like you had after the 2021 election?

Dean Winter

I haven’t had those discussion, but I think my recollection is we’ve always done one. So I expect that we will do one yeah.

Journalist – unidentified

[inaudible]

Dean Winter

Well, Tasmania Labor hasn’t won majority government for a long time. But that doesn’t mean we should give up on it. We believe that the best governments are Labor governments and they’re majority Labor governments, Jim Bacon wouldn’t have been able to do all the amazing things that he did if he wasn’t a majority government. That’s the sort of government that I’d like to lead.

Journalist – Bob Burton

What if we’re now in a situation where the electorate likes minority government?

Dean Winter

Well, Tasmanians are going to get to see aren’t they? As I said, Tasmanians were right in electing this parliament. They’re always right. But they’re going to get to see what this Parliament looks like. They’re going to get to see what the Jacqui Lambie Network actually stands for because they couldn’t see it before the election. They’re going to see what the Greens actually do with more numbers. But what I want to make sure they understand from Labor is that we stand for jobs, we stand for the economy, and all the services that flow on from that.

Journalist – Imogen Elliott

Is being Labor Leader something you’ve always wanted to do or is it [inaudible] few other options?

Dean Winter

I wouldn’t say … look, being Labor Leader is an absolute privilege. When I became Mayor of Kingborough, I didn’t think I could ever be prouder to lead my community. And I have to say this day is something that’s a bit surreal.

When you go into the Labor Opposition offices and you see photos of people like Jim Bacon and Eric Reece up on up on the wall, and you’re a Labor supporter like I’ve been for 20 years, it gives you goosebumps. It’s something I’m really, really proud of. But we have to do them justice and honour the legacy of Labor governments by actually getting into government, by earning Tasmania’s trust back and that’s what I’m aiming to do.

Journalist – unidentified

[inaudible]

Dean Winter

As I said on Friday, and you’ll understand we’ve just had our first Caucus meeting where we’ve elected the leader I’m not going to be like Jeremy Rockliff and make captain’s calls and just tell my team what we’re doing after the fact. I’m going to engage them and make sure that they’re part of the decision-making process.

Yes, we do need to have a very clear position on this. The one thing I’ll say is that we absolutely support an AFL team. I’ve got memberships for my family. I know 200,000 other Tasmanians have got memberships. We all want a team. We just got to make sure we’ve got a deal that makes sense for Tasmania. And then we’ve got … and that’s our approach going forward.

As I said, I’ll make sure that I’m involving all my colleagues in any decision making, which we would make going forward.

Journalist – Bob Burton

[inaudible] last couple of years. [inaudible] Craig Garland, Greens, Kristie Johnson [inaudible].

Dean Winter

Well, I mean, the Greens had a 1% swing towards them, so did Labor. We’re disappointed in our results, and they’re pretending they won. That’s just what the Greens do every single time there’s an election, they pretend they won it. Yes, they got more seats, and that’s a result of the increase in size in Parliament. But we’re very clear about what we stand for. We stand for jobs. That’s our main focus.

Journalist – Bob Burton

I’m sure people like Craig Garland or Jacqui Lambie Network would say exactly the same thing. But they’ve got more progressive environmental policies than Labor does.

Dean Winter

We are a party that believes in jobs, in the economy. But we’re also we are a progressive party that believes in social justice, in equity and equality, and the services that flow on from those good jobs in Tasmanians regions. And that’s what we’re focusing on.

Journalist – Imogen Elliott

How do you feel about the future of Parliament when JLN members have already had to apologise for something they said about the Commission of Inquiry?

Dean Winter

Well, I’d encourage them to read the Commission of Inquiry’s. I know our team did. When the Commission of Inquiry report came out, our whole team sat around our Caucus table and read it together. It’s incredibly difficult reading, but it does give you an understanding of how important the response to those recommendations is, and also holding people to account.

The concern that we’ve got is that the government has failed to hold people to account as part of this process. If we’re going to move on and make sure that we’re implementing recommendations, we actually need to make sure that people who did the wrong thing are held to account.

It still feels like Jeremy Rockliff is hiding people. Hiding Jenny Gale from the scrutiny of the Parliament I don’t think was right. And the Parliament still needs to deal with these issues as we go forward. It’s about holding people to account but it’s also about trying to improve the systems that let so many Tasmanian children down.

Journalist – Bob Burton

The crossbenchers and Jacqui Lambie Network have been talking about integrity and transparency. Are they issues Labor can continue to advance in this Parliament?

Dean Winter

Well, I think the integrity Commission’s performance needs to have a magnifying glass over it. Jane Howlett, if she is appointed to the ministry today, still has potentially the question mark over her from the Integrity Commission that’s been there for two years now. We know that there are at least two members of parliament that are being investigated by the Integrity Commission, but there’s no transparency around what’s actually happening.

We need to make sure we’ve got the right integrity systems in place here in Tasmania so that people can have confidence and trust in the government. I welcome it if Jacqui Lambie is making that a focus for her party or candidates. I welcome that. And we look forward to working with them around those issues.

Journalist – unidentified

Have you spoken to any of those three MPs yet?

Dean Winter

I haven’t. Members of our team have and I’ve been exchanging messages with Jacqui herself and looking forward to catching up with her and members of her team in the next seven days.

Journalist – Josh Duggan

Are you confident there’s ground there where you’ll be able to take advantage of the minority situation?

Dean Winter

Well, it’s not about taking advantage. It’s about making sure we get the best outcomes for Tasmania. This is a unique Parliament. I think anyone knows quite how it’s going to function so far. We’re looking forward to seeing how it all shakes out. But particularly with the Jacqui Lambie Network candidates, we’re not exactly sure where they stand on a lot of issues.

Tasmanian Times

You probably weren’t on most people’s radar until you became a councillor at Kingborough and then mayor. So can you tell us your background and what kind of experiences formed your worldview which you now bring to the leadership of this party?

Dean Winter

Sure, I’m from the west coast. My dad was a miner at Mount Lyell. He was the captain and coach of the West Coast Rugby Club. My mum was a nurse. They moved down to Kingston for job opportunities when I was really young and I went to Catholic, I was educated through the Catholic education system throughout my schooling and education, which has given me a great background.

I don’t have log cabin story of hardship. I have a story of the most loving, great family environment you could possibly ever hope for. And I’m so grateful for my family for giving me the opportunities that they did. And work, I went to university, I was a cadet at Treasury and I was a CEO of Tas ICT and then worked at Optus and Iinet later in life across the IT sector, I worked in ministerial offices in the Shadow and in the Opposition offices before I was elected to council and eventually as mayor and they into Parliament.

Journalist – Bob Burton

[inaudible]

Dean Winter

We’re not running dead on the environment. I think that Tasmania’s aquaculture and forestry and mining sectors can can coexist with the environment. Tourism has been a massive windfall for Tasmania since Jim Bacon really started the tourism resurgence in this state. It’s not one or the other.

Both can coexist and particularly with tourism, the tourism industry has been steadfast for the past 20 years that they want to work with our traditional industries. And I expect that that’s the way that they’ll continue to operate and that’s the way we’ll continue to operate.