The dust has settled on three key contests in Tasmania’s Legislative Council elections, with voters returning a mix of familiar faces and fresh voices to the state’s upper house.
Independent Casey Hiscutt has claimed the seat of Montgomery from his mum Leonie Hiscutt, defeating Liberal candidate Stephen Parry after preferences, with 61.7% of the final vote.
Hiscutt led from the start, securing 7,546 first preference votes, ahead of Parry’s 6,895 and Greens candidate Darren Briggs’ 5,101.
In Nelson, independent Meg Webb claimed victory without needing preference distribution, winning 51.7% of first preference votes.
She saw off challenges from Liberal Marcus Vermey (34.2%) and the Greens’ Nathan Volf (14.1%) in the three-way race.
Labor’s Luke Edmunds held on to Pembroke, fending off a challenge from independent Allison Ritchie.
Edmunds started strongly with 8,429 first preferences compared to Ritchie’s 4,035 and secured 58.2% of the vote after preferences to hold the seat with 11,181 votes.
The exclusion of Greens candidate Carly Allen and independent Tony Mulder in later rounds helped consolidate Edmunds’ win.
Voter turnout was strong across all three divisions. Montgomery saw 23,582 formal votes cast, Nelson recorded 20,539 and Pembroke had 19,259.
