2024 Tasmanian government formation
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Following the results of the 2024 Tasmanian state election, which resulted in a hung parliament with the Liberal Party winning the most seats, the incumbent Liberal government, led by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, was required to negotiate with independents and the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN) to seek confidence and supply to form a minority government for the party's fourth consecutive term in office.[1]
The Labor opposition, led by Opposition Leader Rebecca White, was not in a position to form a government. White conceded defeat the day after the election, stating that Labor could not realistically form a government, even with the support of the Greens, led by Rosalie Woodruff.[2] White also resigned as Labor leader after leading the party to defeat for a third time under her leadership. She was succeeded by Franklin MP Dean Winter, who was elected unopposed to the position.[3]
The snap 2024 Tasmanian election was called due to demands from Liberal turned independent MPs John Tucker and Lara Alexander that a proposed 25,000-seat stadium at Macquarie Point be canceled and the use of CCTV in abattoirs be mandated. Premier Rockliff stated he would ask Governor Barbara Baker for a snap election if Alexander and Tucker could not reach a governing arrangement with the Liberal Party in which they would not support legislation, motions or other parliamentary procedures put forward by the Labor Party, Greens or independent MPs. Alexander and Tucker were not re-elected.[4]
This election delivered a hung parliament, with no party winning an absolute majority (over half) of the 35 available seats. 18 seats are required for a majority in the 35 seat House of Assembly.[5]
The Liberal Party was the largest party following the election with 14 seats, the Labor Party won 10 seats, 5 seats were won by the Greens, 3 seats were won by the JLN, and 3 seats were won by independents.
Potential alliances
Before White conceded defeat, many proposals had been considered possible. One potential alliance was the "traffic light alliance" or the "traffic light coalition", which was a hypothetical alliance or coalition between Labor, the Greens and the JLN. The hypothetical alliance or coalition's name is derived from the colours of the three parties, which are the colours used on traffic lights: red (Labor), yellow (JLN) and green (Greens), similar to Germany's traffic light coalition.[6]