Transcript of media conference with Tasmanian Greens’ Leader Rosalie Woodruff and Cassy O’Connor, Greens’ candidate for the Legislative Council division of Hobart, Mt Stuart Park, 7 April 2024.
Rosalie Woodruff
What an incredible election result for the Greens. It has been a real Green wave of energy in Tasmania and we are very excited for the upcoming election in the seat of Hobart in the Legislative Council. There is no doubt that with the historic second Green elected in Clark, there is a huge shift towards the Greens, our values and the fact that we are going to make change. We stand for change. We stand for making change.
Our fantastic candidate for the seat of Hobart is Cassy O’Connor. She is well-known to the people of Hobart. She is a person of enormous tenacity, integrity. She has a ruthless capacity to scrutinise, to get outcomes and to do the right thing. And she’s got an enormous hard-working ethic. Her experience has been in Cabinet as a Minister for Housing, Climate Change and Community Services. She has been a leader of a political party.
But most importantly for the people of Hobart, the parents and children at primary schools and high schools will know her for having been to school assemblies, people in communities will know that she’s been to their AGMs, community services and unions will know Cassy O’Connor because of the work she’s done with them and for them for over a decade. For nearly 15 years Cassy O’Connor has already been representing the people of Hobart, she has stood with them, and she will go into the Upper House and fight for them and the issues that they’re so that they so much care about.
In the Upper House, we desperately need a Green, because we have to have real action for renters, we have to have homes built, we need a fix to the health system. And we absolutely have to have better protections for nature. What people want in Hobart is a person in the Upper House, a member of the Greens, who they know is not about playing games, is not focused on the tit for tat of politics, who is going to be there to represent them, not to build a stadium, but to build homes. And not to fight on the issues that don’t matter, but to fight for people who want change on cost of living measures, who want a real opportunity for the Tasmania that we can all live in together.
So Cassy O’Connor will be standing for the Greens in Hobart on the fourth of May. And this display of people from the Greens is just a small part of our movement that will be backing Cassy on the doors and in the streets in Hobart spreading the message of change that the Greens are working for in this next term of Parliament.
Cassy O’Connor
It’s so great to be here today with all the volunteers who’ve helped us with such an outstanding election result in Clark: two Greens seats in Clark, the Holy Grail. We are energised to do something we’ve never done before, which is elect a Green to Tasmania’s Upper House and make history in Hobart. It’s a winnable seat, but we’re not going to take anything for granted.
Every vote will count, which is why we’re out on the streets again today. And we will be until polling day, talking to Tasmanians about the things that matter to them. Talking about our beautiful city nipaluna / Hobart, and overwhelmingly what we’re hearing – because we’ve been door knocking for weeks now – is that the people of Hobart don’t want another stadium. They want fairer rents, more homes, better hospitals, real environmental protection, and they want to elect people who know how to hold the major parties to account. I can do that. And if I’m elected, that’s exactly what I’ll do.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
You’re putting your hand up for Hobart, it’s a month out and we haven’t seen too many candidates just yet. Are you surprised that there’s not a bigger field?
Cassy O’Connor
I think we should just wait and see because I’m sure some potential candidates will be waiting until the vote is finished from the state election, potentially to nominate. As far as I know, there are three declared candidates for Hobart. But you know, the more the merrier. We live in a democracy and we want to have a good contest here.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
What do you think will be the issues that will decide Hobart?
Cassy O’Connor
What we’re hearing from people we talked to is enormous resentment about the stadium, bafflement at a government that could prioritise a billion-dollar stadium on the waterfront instead of bringing down rents, building more homes, fixing up the health crisis, looking after our beautiful city. They’re the issues that keep coming up over and over and over again.
Also, our schools, making sure we’re investing in our children, real cost of living measures. Having a public transport system that works for the people of Hobart. A lot of them are just the basics. We’re dealing with a government that’s tired. And that has forgotten that it needs to act in the public interest, not the in the interests of its donors or the AFL.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
You were in Parliament for a long time. You said you needed a break when you left the Lower House. Has that break made you re-energised or are you regretting your decision to re-enter politics already?
Cassy O’Connor
I am so energised to win Hobart and particularly after the state election result, the people of Clark liked what they were hearing from the Greens, and they’ve put two Greens MPs in the House of Assembly. That’s, I think, an excellent endorsement of our values, our track record and our policies, and it does bode us well for Hobart. But while it’s a winnable seat, we can’t take anything for granted. And every vote will count if we’re to make history in Hobart.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
You left the party in good stead when you left it to Rosalie and quit. Does the election results really reinforce that for you?
Cassy O’Connor
I think the election result is a testament to Rosalie’s leadership, our excellent candidates, and our greatest asset, which is our people who get out there talking to voters about Greens values and policies and help us to make sure we have strong elected Green representatives in our Parliaments.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
We keep talking about a really good result. Obviously, you went from two to five, not a huge increase in the first preference vote though. What’s your reflection on the election?
Rosalie Woodruff
I just feel stoked really on behalf of all the people who wanted a change and to put their faith in the Greens. It is incredible that we’ve got a second person in Clark, we’ve never had that before. That’s a historic win for the Greens. We got a huge vote for Cecily Rosol coming fifth in Bass, it’s a fantastic place. We haven’t had a member in Lyons for over a decade. We came very close in Braddon. And, you know, we’re also looking deep into the future very, very good for having a second person in Franklin. So I think what we’ve seen is a strength of support for the Greens and that’s what we’re building on moving into the Hobart election.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
And talking about your role in the Parliament going forward, there’s more crossbenchers now, that’s more MPs than Labor has. How big a role will the crossbench play in this new Parliament?
Rosalie Woodruff
Well, it’s obviously going to be enormous. It will be extraordinary if Jeremy Rockliff continues to say that he doesn’t want to deal with nearly half of the crossbench. And I think that’s unlikely. Our door’s always open. The most important thing is that we’ll be in there from day one, day two and to the end of Parliament fighting every day to work constructively to get change. There’s no doubt people want change. And that’s what the Greens are going to go in and fight for.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
Do you feel a bit left out in the cold at the moment? He’s got to find four numbers. And he’s constrained himself to that pool of six MPs to do that.
Rosalie Woodruff
Look, Jeremy knows my number, and he can find me at any time and have a chat. I think the main thing is that we’re open and we’re working constructively on the mechanics of getting back into Parliament. We’re looking forward to having our party room meeting and getting on with organising ourselves to be ready from day one.
There’s no doubt that Jeremy Rockliff is in a difficult space and the Liberals are in a worse place than they were beforehand. That’s not surprising. Both the Liberal and Labor parties have been dealt a blow by Tasmanians. That’s why more Greens were elected. That’s why we’ve got a larger crossbench. This is the start of a great democratic future for Tasmanians. And I look forward on behalf of the Greens and with all the other new members coming in, we will work constructively with everyone every day of the week in Parliament to get great outcomes.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
I’ve been in many press conferences where Cassy says minority governments are the best governments. Obviously, the government itself has to collaborate with the crossbench but the crossbench also has to collaborate as well. What sort of role do you guys have going forward in holding the government to account but also making sure it all sticks together and respects the will of what Tasmanian voters elected?
Rosalie Woodruff
Tasmanians want to have stability in government, they obviously don’t want to go back to an election. And we don’t want any part of that happening. So we will be working constructively. Of course, any negotiations, any work in Parliament is done by having conversations and compromising. This is the basics of how we work in society. Every single community organisation that has a committee, people sit down, and they work out their differences, and they come to mutual solutions.
There are win-win solutions in Tasmania. That’s what we campaigned on and that’s what we’ll be fighting for in Parliament. There are win-win solutions, on health, on housing, on cost-of-living issues, and on environment protection. So we’re going to be going in there fighting for win-win solutions, looking for them, pointing them out and making sure they happen.
Tasmanian Times
In his thread on Twitter yesterday, the Premier said he remains committed to the principles he outlined on day one, “no compromise of our 2030 strong plan for Tasmania.”. Do you think he’s kidding himself a bit given that the Liberal vote went down by 12% and they are in a relatively worse off position in terms of seats than they were in the last Parliament?
Rosalie Woodruff
I think it’s totally immature. And it’s also dishonest. Like, what conversations is he going to be having with the rest of the crossbench if he’s talking about not changing anything from what the Liberals want? Well, they didn’t win majority government for a reason. People want change. So he’s going to have to compromise on his 2030 vision, he’s going to have to compromise on lots of things. Because that’s what Tasmanians have elected, they’ve elected people to represent them for the change that they want.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
A bit niche but resourcing for minor parties and independents. Is there going to have to be change in the Parliament going forward? You’re obviously going to need more support for five MPs than you did with two, for example.
Rosalie Woodruff
Yes. Obviously all of the crossbench will need to be supported to be able to do our important work. We’re larger than the Opposition. And so we’ll have to be resourced commensurate with that. And we’re obviously putting our bid in, like, I’m sure all the other members of the crossbench will be, to get better resourcing, because unless you have properly resourced Members of Parliament, then we can’t do our work.
But also we’re going to have to have a whole suite of changes to the committee structure in Parliament and restore some of the democracy that has been lost under the Liberals. There’s no doubt that they’ve gutted a number of the institutions that were long-standing parts of our Parliament in Tasmania, and we are going to be working to restore those.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
So what are those?
Rosalie Woodruff
Joint Standing Committees, for example. There used to always be a Joint Standing Committee on Environment, a Joint Standing Committee on Community Services. They have historically been part of the Tasmanian Parliament, and making sure that there is a proper complement of those committees so that the work of Parliament can be done with more democracy.
Tasmanian Times
Just on democracy. There was a very high level of informal voting in this election. So what do you think can be done to fix that?
Rosalie Woodruff
I think Tasmanians need to be better educated about our amazing Hare-Clark system. Just looking at the vote and the number of seats that was achieved for each party and independent in Parliament, it’s very fair. It is an amazing system but it is difficult to understand. There should be extra resourcing to the Electoral Commission, for example, so that they can do their job of providing education to voters so that people understand how to vote. It was a new system. And I think it also shows that there is a lack of trust in the processes of Parliament and politicians. That’s really unfortunate, and it’s up to us, all Members of Parliament, to represent a type of approach to working constructively together. That is what people really crave. That’s about respectful relations and that’s about working constructively, not throwing mud. And, you know, wanting to work together. It’s not about doing deals, it’s about getting outcomes.
Journalist – Adam Langenberg
Nick McKim said on election night that there was a large rate of one to five voting in Lyons in particular, is that something that you saw people? Numbering one to five and then stopping, seeming to get confused by the new 35 seats system?
Rosalie Woodruff
I’ve heard that, I didn’t see that. But yes, I’ve heard that. And that’s really unfortunate. It’s actually at Jeremy Rockliff’s feet, that outcome, because it was a snap election and it never should have been that way. It should have been done properly. The Electoral Commission had a plan in place to better inform Tasmanians, and they certainly didn’t have time in a short election campaign to do that work properly. So it is on the Liberals’ feet I think some responsibility for that sort of informal voting.
Tasmanian Times
Kristie Johnston has talked about trying to ban Dorothy Dixers, saying that they’re a waste of the Parliament’s time. Where do the Greens stand on that and how would that work in practice?
Rosalie Woodruff
We’re really glad that Kristie Johnston is supporting what the Greens have been calling for for decades, banning Dorothy Dixers, which is a form of self-congratulation and puffery from the government. It’s a waste of the Parliament’s time, the precious hour of scrutiny. When there’s such a large crossbench and and also the Opposition, that’s not gonna fly. So we’ll be pushing to get rid of Dorothy Dixers and to make sure all of the questions relate to the issues that Tasmanians want asked of their government.
Journalist – Bree
An Exxon gas pipeline burst in Bass Strait while an old gas rig was being decommissioned. There’s now an evident sheen on the ocean surface, what environmental and marine harm could that have done?
Rosalie Woodruff
Well, that’s a horrifying piece of information. That is devastating. It just goes to show why we have to do everything within our power to end fossil fuel production, to end oil and gas drilling. And the fact that the federal Labor Party have opened up vast tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of kilometres of extra exploration area in a climate emergency, is a disgrace. And so it is on the feet of the federal Labor Party that they’re not winding back the exploration that’s happening.
But on that matter, it just goes to show that we have to prioritise the protection of the marine environment. And we ought to be having resources and conversations with the federal government about the impacts on the Tasmanian shoreline. I don’t know what the impacts if any there would be on the Tasmanian shoreline. But it is incumbent on the government to immediately be in conversations to try and avert any damage.
