Tasmania is set for a snap election next month, following Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s request, which has been approved by the state’s Governor, Christina Baker. The decision comes amid rising public sentiment against the need for another election just before the scheduled 2024 elections. Baker, in a statement, justified the dissolution by stating that it was unlikely for an alternative government to emerge.
The election is slated for July 19,, with Rockliff acknowledging that he did not wish for another election nor did he believe it was what Tasmanians wanted. He attributed the necessity for this election to actions taken by Labor Opposition Leader Dean Winter, who initiated a no-confidence motion after the Liberal Party’s budget announcement on May 19, which highlighted the state’s mounting debt projected to reach nearly $11 billion by decade’s end.
Winter argued that Rockliff’s position was unsustainable due to the rising debt and a previously proposed but now discarded asset privatisation plan. Leading up to the no-confidence debate, Rockliff had indicated he would call for an election should the motion pass, rather than resign.
Winter has been critical of Rockliff’s approach, claiming that the Premier has lost the support of the parliament and suggesting that Tasmanians must now face another early election due to Rockliff’s intentions to privatise state assets. He reiterated that such actions would lead to increased power costs and subpar services as profits would be channelled to offshore interests.
Rockliff refuted these claims, asserting that Winter’s accusations highlight why he cannot be trusted. The Premier warned that a return to a Labor-Green government would be detrimental to Tasmania and that his government has definitively ruled out any form of asset sale.
This will be the second time Tasmanians will vote in just over a year and the fourth election in seven years. Concerns have also emerged over the potential political instability affecting Tasmania’s forthcoming AFL team, expected to join the league in 2028, contingent on the construction of a new stadium in Hobart.
Recently, the Parliament was reconvened as members rushed to pass an emergency budget supply bill to ensure continued funding for public departments throughout the electoral campaign.