An experienced classroom teacher who has spent two decades shaping young minds in northern Tasmania is now looking to take the fight directly to the state’s Education Minister in the upper house seat of Rosevears.
Labor’s Ben Mckinnon, a long-serving teacher at schools including Exeter High School and Brooks High School, is Labor’s candidate for the seat currently held by Liberal incumbent Jo Palmer.
It is a contest that has turned education into a central battleground, pitting a teacher who says he sees the system’s problems from the inside against the minister responsible for running it.
This story is part of a Pulse deep-dive series on the May 2 Legislative Council elections. To read more about candidates standing, click here.
Mckinnon said he didn’t go looking for a political career, but when the party came knocking, he couldn’t say no.
“I really believe in service, and when you’re given an opportunity to serve our incredible community, I said yes,” he said.
“I really believe in a strong local voice for Rosevears, for Launceston, for West Tamar, on the issues that matter most to us and to them.”
Mckinnon has been a Labor member for more than 20 years and took six weeks of leave without pay from his teaching job to campaign full-time.
He said he has a long friendship with former Rosevears member Kerry Finch, the popular independent who held the seat before Palmer.
He described Finch as “such a just amazing guy who really cared about serving the local community.”
Mckinnon has spent months door-knocking across the electorate and says the response has given him confidence, with residents telling him repeatedly that they have never seen a local representative come to their door.
“Ninety per cent of people tell me that they’ve never seen anyone on the doors,” he said.
The cost of living is the number one issue he’s hearing from voters, followed by healthcare, education and road safety.
“Every time you fill up your car, you swipe your card for your groceries, the energy costs, the bills,” he said.
“In healthcare at the moment, I’m hearing 12-hour waits and 8-hour waits.”
“Everyone says the staff are fantastic, but the system needs a hell of a lot of work.”
Mckinnon reserved some of his sharpest criticism for the state of Tasmania’s education system, a pointed challenge given he’s running directly against the Education Minister.
“Teachers see from the inside, whereas the system and the outsiders from the system just don’t get what the real issues are for parents, for families, and for students,” he said.
“Teachers, they long to see… they can see the potential that can be reached for their students and to also help lighten the load for parents in our communities.”
“Teachers are frustrated because they can see how it could be.”
He pointed to what he described as record levels of industrial action among school staff as evidence that the system needs significant change.
Mental health in schools is another priority Mckinnon wants to champion.
He said it needed to be treated as foundational rather than secondary, and called for “simple, consistent systems of support in our schools.”
If elected, Mckinnon said one of his most practical priorities would be reversing cuts to TAFE, which he described as critical for young Tasmanians building career paths into local industries.
“So many people on the doors have been saying how important TAFE is for our young people to build strong career paths into local industries,” he said.
“I’ve got two kids. I want my kids to get a good job in this local area here in Tasmania, so that they can be serving our community and helping our economy grow.”
Mckinnon was also asked about the greyhound racing issue, which has become a political flashpoint after the delay of a parliamentary vote pushed the matter closer to the election.
Labor supports the continuation of the industry, despite public polling indicating a majority of Tasmanians would prefer to see it end.
He said he supports Labor’s position but insisted it isn’t something voters are raising with him.
“On the doors, no one’s talking about it, so it’s a Hobart drama,” he said.
“It’s disappointing to me that in a period where cost of living is biting harder than ever, when it is clearly the number one issue for the people of every door that I’m opening in Rosevears, it’s not the priority of this government for some reason, and I don’t understand that.”
Mckinnon described himself as someone who doesn’t believe in judgment and wants to build trust in the community.
He has created a social media series called Local Legends, profiling interesting residents he meets while door-knocking, including a man he says was Australia’s first windsurfer who once drove 10 windsurf boards around the country in a yellow Kombi van.
He acknowledged he’s the underdog against Palmer, who has significant name recognition and a long public profile, but said he’s optimistic about his chances.
“It’s up to the people of Rosevears,” he said.
“My focus is listening to them, and the rest will take care of itself.”
