Tasmanian Liberal minister Jo Palmer is facing voters for the first time in six years, and she knows the stakes are high.
Palmer, a former newsreader on Southern Cross Television who swapped the studio for state politics in 2020, says the job has been “the most extraordinary time” of her life.
“I’ve loved almost every minute of it,” she said.
This story is part of a Pulse deep-dive series on the May 2 Legislative Council elections. To read more about the candidates standing, click here.
“I’ve been really challenged personally, but I had the opportunity to sink my teeth into some really big issues and fight really hard for things that mean a lot to me, and I know mean a lot for the community that I serve.”
Palmer won her upper house seat of Rosevears in 2020 by just 260 votes, edging out independent candidate Janie Finlay, who has since become a Labor MP.
In the time since, her Liberal colleagues in the lower house have faced the voters three times.
Six years on, the former newsreader admits election day still rattles her nerves.
“Elections are nerve-wracking. There’s… you can’t deny it, they are nerve-wracking,” she said.
But she said she hoped voters would judge her not just on policy but on the way she had conducted herself in Parliament.
“I’ve never been anyone to rant and rave or throw tantrums in Parliament,” she said.
“I have always tried to be super respectful, play the policy, not the person.”
“I really hope that my community, even if they may not agree with my politics, will go, ‘You know what? She was measured, she was calm, she was kind and respectful, and worked really hard.'”
Much of Palmer’s time as a minister has been consumed by education, a portfolio that puts her at the centre of debates that touch almost every Tasmanian family.
A drawn-out pay dispute with the Australian Education Union led to strikes and school closures, with hundreds of education staff rallying outside parliament in March.
But the government has finally reached a deal with the union, with a three-year agreement providing 3% increases in the first and second years and 2.75% in the third.
The deal, which also includes reduced teacher workloads and more school psychologists, was backed by 72% of union members on Monday.
Palmer said the industrial action had left her “devastated”, particularly given her own campaign urging students not to miss a day of class.
“I didn’t wanna see industrial action at all and we did everything we could to see that not happen,” she said.
“Especially when you’re running a campaign saying to kids, ‘Look, every school day matters. Even if you’re feeling a bit sluggish in the morning, get up, grab your backpack, get to school.'”
Despite the tension, Palmer pushed back on suggestions her relationship with the union had broken down, pointing to regular and frank conversations with Australian Education Union head David Genford.
“We both want the same outcome,” she said.
“We both want to see teaching as a profession that is admired and that is respected.”
On greyhound racing, one of the most contentious issues in Tasmanian politics, Palmer was firm.
She said her electorate office had been “inundated” with correspondence, overwhelmingly from people urging her to support a phase-out of the industry.
“For me personally, I’m always gonna fall on the side of animal welfare,” she said.
She acknowledged the Liberal Party’s position had shifted after it was forced to negotiate with crossbenchers in a minority parliament, and accepted that had eroded some trust.
“It’s over 70% of Tasmanians saying we wanna see this industry phased out,” she said.
“But what we really wanna do is we don’t just wanna slam the door.”
The transition from beloved newsreader to politician hasn’t always been smooth.
Palmer acknowledged she’d been a hugely popular figure on Tasmanian screens, but said picking a political party inevitably meant some people would turn against her.
“There were critics of me when I was a newsreader. Certainly, you know, there’s critics now,” she said.
“But I work hard every day. I believe in what I’m doing. I have always been honest with the people who I represent.”
But it’s the personal toll of public life that still catches her off guard, particularly the impact of online abuse on her 85-year-old mother.
“My beautiful mum is 85 years old, and she’s a Facebook warrior,” Palmer said.
“She reads everything on my Facebook page, and she does get upset, as any mum would.”
“Sometimes she’ll have a little cry and not understand the things that people say, and I find that hard. I find that hard for her.”
Rosevears voters head to the polls on Saturday.
