Independent MP Craig Garland says he will not back down in talks to form government, accusing both major parties of refusing to compromise on key issues – despite needing crossbench support to govern.
Speaking after meeting with Labor and other crossbenchers on Thursday, Garland said both Labor and the Liberals were still stuck in a “majority headspace”.
With Labor holding just 10 seats, compared to the crossbench and Greens’ combined 11, Garland said the party didn’t seem to recognise its precarious position.
“There’s been all this talk about collaboration and compromise right from the word go,” he said.
“The next day … they’re saying ‘we’re not budging on salmon, we’re not budging on native forest logging’. That’s not collaboration and compromise.”
Garland has previously said Labor was best placed to form the next state government and ruled out giving confidence and supply to the Liberals.
But he now says Labor also can’t count on his support unless it comes to the table.
“If either of those major parties are serious about forming government, they’ve got to get serious about approaching us in the right way and compromising on the issues people voted us in there for,” he said.
“I’m not going in on a whim and a prayer hoping that they’re going to do the right thing after a few months, because last year all I saw was Labor and Liberal in lockstep on just about everything.”
“How is that going to serve my voters?”
With parliament due to sit in just 11 days, fellow independent Peter George said plenty more negotiations would be needed to reach any sort of agreement.
“Labor needs to understand that minority government means actually compromising, collaborating. You can’t have yes on one side and no on the other side,” he said.
“They need to understand that somewhere between the yes and no is a happy meeting ground, where not everybody gets what they want, but on the other hand we get good results for Tasmania.”
What that middle ground might look like when it comes to his demands to scrap the Macquarie Point stadium and phase out the salmon industry remains to be seen.
Labor leader Dean Winter said his pitch to the independents focused on restoring trust and integrity in government, fixing the budget and ensuring the parliament runs a full term.
“It was a productive and respectful first meeting and I look forward to furthering the discussions,” he said.
