This video addresses what happens if the Tasmanian election results in another hung Parliament. It outlines the conventions concerning the formation of a government and the role of the Governor. It then notes the peculiarities of Tasmania, including section 8B of the Tasmanian Constitution which terminates the offices of Ministers seven days after the return of the election writs. This forces the Governor to make an active choice of Premier. The video discusses two controversies concerning the post-election formation of government in 1989 and 2010. It considers the factors taken into account by the Governor at the time, and their consistency with existing conventions.
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Michael Stasse
June 17, 2025 at 11:00
So Dean Winter’s promises of never dealing with the Greens are meaningless !
Rachel
June 17, 2025 at 12:48
It would be great to have a transcript of this, because some of us haven’t got the time or the patience to watch videos.
Chief Editor TT
June 17, 2025 at 14:03
There’s a transcript under the video on the YouTube page.
Ted Mead
June 17, 2025 at 14:36
Thanks to this precise and lucid explanation by Professor Twomey about the Governor General’s responsibilities, this video has clarified what may lay ahead for Tasmania’s governance beyond July 19.
Prior to the 1989 State election it seems the Governor General’s responsibilities were fairly tame. Given the likelihood that a majority in the Lower House for any political party seems unobtainable now, or in the foreseeable future, then the challenges of forming a cooperative parliament will be tested once again as a stalemate possibly looms.
Given the State Liberal Party’s appalling performance over the last 15 months, I personally can’t fathom how the Liberals can convince Tasmanians to elect more members! Even the psephologists would be scratching their heads, and they have probably reverted to reading their tea leaves in the morning for insights.
In a complete failure, Dean Winter has been unable to increase his popularity as a preferred leader. He must be aware that Labor cannot obtain government in its own right.
So, what is the likely governance outcome? Hopefully not another disastrous alliance between Labor and the Greens .. the Accord Mark III ?
In retrospect the 1989 accord between Labor and the Greens wasn’t that calamitous after all, given the environment gains and social reforms that prevailed. This only manifested because Michael Field was desperately impatient for power and rushed the agreement through before the resource extraction councils and industry lobbyists had a chance to peruse and influence the details.
Subsequent to the signing of the accord, the Field government was pressured by industries, unions, and the Chamber of Commerce to move a resource security bill which was rushed through both houses of Parliament. The Field government then ultimately reneged on its signed agreement and the accord disintegrated, thereby leaving the Labor government no choice but to request another election.
In my opinion, the second alliance between Labor and the Greens in 2010, wherein 2 Green members were into endorsed into Labor’s Cabinet was an absolute catastrophe. The Greens’ credibility has seemingly never recovered after they acquiesced and capitulated to seemingly all of Labor’s demands and policies. This was a complete fiasco and a waste of 4 years wherein they had obtained the balance of power yet gained little, if anything, progressive for Tasmania. The Greens even traded off a wilderness zone by supporting commercial development within a National Park, and by doing so undermined their own constituency, hence their elected numbers and voter support took a deep slide for years! As a result, like many disillusioned conservationists, I have refrained to voting Green and now only support Independents!
To prove the Greens’ naivety and gullibility, after the party was shafted by Labor at the eleventh hour prior to the 2014 state election, Cassie O’Connor stated before the media that “the only way forward for the Greens was though future Cabinet participation”. Grrr! The outcome of that was that only loyal Greens voters continued their support .. simply because there were limited candidate options.
If the Greens choose to form an alliance with another party after July 19, they should do it under conditions that would be endorsed by their constituency and not to their ingratiated self-interests.
It seems a mix of cross bench support is the only likely workable outcome for governance in Tasmania, but given the egos and arrogance over the past year that may not come easy!
Bob Hawkins
June 19, 2025 at 09:32
My understanding is that while Tasmania has a “Governor”, Australia has a “Governor-general”. To have the chance to come up with a new form of government for Tasmania my best plan would be for all voters to vote out the two biggest parties, namely Liberal and Labor.
In this way Parliament would be able to elect a majority coalition government of entirely Independent members, the hope being that those Independents would act in the interests of the state and not in those of their own hip-pockets and those of their best mates.
Can someone tell me the address of the British university* which recently did a really interesting study of corruption in Tasmania? I believe the study suggests Tasmanians have perfected their corruption so well that it is all actually legal. That sounds about right to me!
The situation? Hopeless!
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* The University of Sussex.
https://blogs.sussex.ac.uk/centre-for-the-study-of-corruption/2025/01/21/tasmania-the-corruption-isle/
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