Premier Jeremy Rockliff has confirmed he will ask the Governor to recommission him to form the next government, despite the Liberals falling four seats short of a majority in a hung parliament.
Speaking on Sunday after all 35 seats were declared, Rockliff said Labor leader Dean Winter had forced an unnecessary election that backfired badly.
“Dean Winter forced an election. It’s blown up in his face. He needs to accept responsibility for Labor’s terrible vote,” Rockliff said.
“The Labor Party has received their lowest vote for 120 years or more.”
While the Liberals ended up with the same 14 seats they held before the poll, Rockliff insists the outcome still gives him a clear mandate to govern.
“There is a swing towards the Liberal Party, we’ve received over 40% of the vote,” he said.
“It’s a reflection of the will of the Tasmanian people and that needs to be respected.”
Rockliff did not say when he will approach Governor Barbara Baker to seek recommissioning.
“It is my intention, of course, as I said on election night, to request the Governor recommission our government and then we can get on with the job of what we were elected to do,” he said.
“But also work with each and every member of parliament to ensure that everyone has their say like they did before. The previous parliament was working until Dean Winter forced an election.”
Labor has signalled it is prepared to work with crossbenchers to form government if the Liberals cannot secure the backing of four MPs.
However, Rockliff dismissed that possibility, saying he does not need formal agreements to govern.
“Tasmanians have spoken. We have 14 seats, by far the most seats,” he said.
“And while I would welcome individual members of parliament signing confidence and supply [agreements], we don’t need that to form a minority government.”
He also warned that any attempt by Labor to take power would hinge on support from the Greens.
“If Labor received confidence and supply from the crossbench, they would have to do a deal with the Greens. And that would be a key election commitment that Mr Winter would have broken,” he said.
“Tasmanians would have a very dim view of Mr Winter going back on his word.”
