The Liberal Party will form a new government in Tasmania, following today’s election which crushed the ALP and punished the Greens.
Will Hodgman will become the first Liberal Premier of Tasmania since 1998, bringing to an end 16 years of Labor government. For the last four years, the ALP has governed in coalition with the Greens, first under Premier David Bartlett and then Lara Giddings.
The Liberal Party appears on track to win three seats each in Braddon, Bass, Lyons and Franklin and two seats in Denison, giving it 14 seats in the 25-seat House of Assembly.
Whilst counting is not finalised, the ALP is struggling to win more than one seat in four of the five electorates. It is likely to win two seats in Denison and hold at least 6 overall.
The Liberal Party is polling 57.39% of the vote in Bass, 58.84% in Braddon, 52.24% in Lyons, 49.76% in Franklin, and 37.72% in Denison. Statewide, the Liberal Party is polling 51.4% of the primary vote, an increase of 12.4%.
The ALP is polling 23.36% in Bass, 23.40% in Braddon, 27.66% in Lyons, 28.93% in Franklin and 34.18% in Denison. Statewide, it is polling 27.4%, a swing of 9.5% from 2010.
The Greens have lost over a third of their vote, falling from 21.6% to 13.5%, a swing of 8.1% since 2010.
The Greens seem assured of winning one seat in each of Denison and Franklin but will require preferences in the other seats.
The 5 electorates each return 5 members under the Hare-Clarke system of proportional voting. In the last parliament, the ALP and Liberals had 10 seats each, whilst the Greens held 5.
Premier Lara Giddings conceded defeat in a long, triumphal speech to supporters. “We’ll be back,” she said at the end of an address which lauded the achievements of the 16-year-old Labor government. She gave no indication if she would seek to remain as leader of the ALP.
Greens leader Nick McKim took full responsibility for the decline in his party’s vote but also delivered a triumphant speech.
Will Hodgman will be Tasmania’s 45th Premier. He is the son of a former federal and state member, and minister in the Fraser government, Michael Hodgman, who died last June. He has been Opposition Leader since 2006.
- Listen to Giddings (19m)
- Watch Giddings (19m)
- Listen to McKim (19m)
- Watch McKim (19m)
- Listen to Hodgman (14m)
- Watch Hodgman (14m)
