Racing Minister Jane Howlett has quit cabinet, saying she wants to stop a “relentless personal and political attack” from distracting the government.
Howlett announced her resignation shortly after 12pm on Tuesday.
“This morning I tendered my resignation as minister to the premier,” she said in a statement.
“It is obvious that the relentless personal and political attack on me is causing a significant distraction for the government, which I cannot allow to continue.”
Howlett said it had “been an honour to serve the people of Tasmania across multiple portfolios”.
“Tasmanians should be rightly concerned the opposition is continuing to destabilise minority government to put their own political interests ahead of the proper work of delivering for our state,” she said.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he accepted the resignation and thanked Howlett for her service.
“Minister Howlett has made the decision to step aside to ensure the government remains focused on the job Tasmanians elected us to do,” he said.
Rockliff said there would be “no disruption to the work of government”.
“At a time when Tasmanians expect steady leadership, this government remains focused on providing stability, continuity and results,” he said.
“What Tasmanians will not see from this government is a loss of focus.”
The resignation comes one day after sworn testimony cast doubt on what Howlett told parliament about a TasRacing text message sent during last year’s election campaign.
During the 2025 election, state-owned TasRacing sent stakeholders a message promoting the Liberals’ TasInsure policy, a pledge to set up a state-owned insurance company.
Caretaker conventions bar the use of government resources to promote the incumbent government.
Since November, Howlett had repeatedly told parliament that neither she nor her office knew about the message beforehand.
But on Monday, a parliamentary committee heard evidence contradicting that.
Labor and the Greens had demanded Howlett resign over claims she misled parliament.
She had also faced criticism over $300,000 in taxpayer-funded legal fees.
Shadow integrity minister Ella Haddad said Labor “welcomes the resignation of Jane Howlett”.
“It is disappointing that Ms Howlett has attempted to portray this as a personal, political attack,” Haddad said.
“Pursuing accountability over $300,000 worth of secret legal fees or misleading parliament was never personal.”
“It was about upholding parliamentary standards when Premier Rockliff would not.”
It is the second resignation from Rockliff’s cabinet in recent weeks, after Madeleine Ogilvie stepped aside amid claims she too misled parliament.
Howlett said she would stay on as the member for Lyons.
“I intend to continue to serve the people of Lyons with dedication, hard work and determination,” she said.
