The Tasmanian polls have already closed, with the remaining Liberal state government in Australia attempting to hold onto power.
Following the departure of two of his MPs, John Tucker and Lara Alexander, who left the party to join the crossbench ten months ago, forcing the government into minority control, Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff called an early election. Polls opened at 8 a.m.
The election will increase the state’s MP count from 25 to 35, but despite Rockliff’s insistence that Tasmanians elect his party to a majority, it is largely expected that today’s results will result in a hung parliament.
As a result, it can take a few days before we receive a definitive outcome.
According to Rockliff, the polls indicate that his party is the only one that can win a majority.
“What the polls say is the Liberal party is the only party within striking distance of majority government,” he stated yesterday.
However, Opposition Leader Rebecca White asserts that it is time for change following a decade of Liberal rule.
“There is a stale, ten-year-old Liberal administration up for election that is concentrated on the wrong issues. Alternatively, she suggested, a Labor government prepared to move quickly to lower living expenses, fix the healthcare system, and help more people find cheap homes.
The cost of living, housing, and the state’s healthcare system have dominated the campaign. A key flashpoint is the proposed new stadium that would be constructed in Hobart.
One of the requirements for Tasmania’s allocation of a new AFL team—whose name and colors were revealed this week—is the stadium.
However, given its $715 million price tag and doubts over whether it can be paid for, White has said that the agreement with the AFL will need to be renegotiated after the election, regardless of who wins.
Rockliff has defended the project, stating that any cost overruns will receive “support” from the private sector.
