Premier Jeremy Rockliff has acknowledged “a kick up the backside” from voters but says the make-up of Tasmania’s new parliament makes him excited to get on with the job.
Unable to form a majority government after securing just 14 seats at the March 23 poll, the Tasmanian parliament will be led by the Liberals and include 10 Labor seats, five Greens, three Jacqui Lambie Network, and three independents.
The Liberal Party has been in power a decade and Mr. Rockliff called an early election in a bid to secure majority government.
Despite falling short of that goal, the premier says he will “embrace the opportunity to work with the expanded parliament ... that is truly reflective of the people who voted for it.”
“I’m excited about this parliament,” he told reporters at his family farm on Sunday.
“They’ve [voters] given us a kick up the backside and we note that, we reflect on that,”
He conceded that the previous parliament was unworkable and promised to work with the parliament in a co-operative way.
A third of Tasmanians snubbed the two major parties at the election, with the Liberals receiving 37 percent of the primary vote and Labor 29 percent.
Labor conceded it was unable to form government the day after the election.
The crossbench will also include independents David O'Byrne and Kristie Johnston.
The final seat went to independent Craig Garland who previously described himself as an “anti-politician” and accused parties of hijacking democracy for their survival.
He has run at several state elections and picked up more than five per cent of the first-preference vote.
Senator Jacqui Lambie, who hails from Tasmania’s northwest, has indicated her party is prepared to provide stability to the Liberals.
Senator Lambie said her party would bring integrity and transparency to the parliament.
“For too long the major parties have taken the Tasmanian people for granted, that time is over,” she said on Sunday.
Each of Tasmania’s five electorates is represented by seven MPs under the Hare-Clark proportional voting system.
