Tasmania is going to the polls for the second time in 14 months to elect a new state government.
Labor passed a motion of no confidence against Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff last week, citing deepening debt and the delayed arrival of new Spirit of Tasmania ferries.
Rockliff, who didn’t have a majority in the lower house, followed through on his pledge to call an early election if the motion passed Parliament. It will be held on 19 July.
Here’s what you need to know.
Tasmania
Tasmania went to an early election last March, where the Liberal Party won the most seats of any party in the lower house (14 of 35).
A party needs the support of more than half the lower house to form government. Typically, this happens by winning a majority of seats.
Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff secured the support of five independents and minor party MPs to form a minority government.
Last week, Labor passed a no-confidence motion against the Premier, which is an expression of lack of support in the government.
The motion passed the lower house 18-17 last Thursday.
The move didn’t automatically dissolve Parliament. Instead, there were two options: the Premier could be replaced by another Liberal, or Labor could have tried to form a minority government with independents or the Greens.
However, Rockliff had promised to call an election if the motion was successful, calling Labor leader Dean Winter a “wrecker”.
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Election date
Rockliff visited state Governor Barbara Baker earlier this week. She vowed to “consider all options” before calling an election.
In a follow-up visit last night, Rockliff’s request for an election was granted.
It will be held on 19 July and marks the fourth Tasmanian election in seven years. State elections need to be held every four years.
“Another election is not what I wanted, and I know that it’s not what Tasmanians wanted,” Rockliff said in a statement.
Labor
In a statement, Labor leader Dean Winter said: “Sadly Tasmanians need to go to another early election”.
Winter accused Jeremy Rockliff of wanting to push ahead with plans to sell off state assets, which the Liberal Premier has ruled out.
The latest opinion poll shows Labor is ahead on primary votes at 31%, with the Liberals at 29%.
At the federal election in May, Labor won four out of five Tasmanian seats. The fifth is held by independent Andrew Wilkie.
