Voters in Huon and Rosevears head to the polls on Saturday to decide who will represent them in Tasmania’s upper house for the next six years.
10 candidates are contesting the two seats, with cost of living, the Macquarie Point stadium, salmon farming and the future of greyhound racing dominating the campaign.
Pulse has spoken with every candidate as part of a deep-dive series on the May 2 Legislative Council elections. Here’s a quick guide to who is running, click on each name to read about each candidate in-depth.
Huon
Dean Harriss (Independent) – The incumbent is making the case that quiet, practical decision-making is what the upper house needs as he faces his toughest electoral test.
Supports: The salmon industry’s presence in Huon, a phased ban on greyhound racing with industry compensation, the government’s free public transport initiative and additional funding for the Integrity Commission.
Does not support: The government’s current $4.8 million greyhound industry compensation package and shifts in government policy positions after elections (citing both the greyhound and salmon inquiry decisions).
Tyler Petersen (Independent) – A small business owner pitching himself as a centrist voice, with housing affordability and planning reform as his signature issues.
Supports: Centralising planning decisions to a state housing board, stamp duty concessions for first home buyers and downsizing retirees, converting commercial spaces into housing, transparent auditing and real-time monitoring of salmon farming, banning greyhound racing.
Does not support: Local councils retaining planning authority, current stamp duty settings on housing transactions, awarding government contracts to mainland companies over Tasmanian businesses and cost overruns on government projects such as the Hobart stadium.
Michael Rowan (Independent) – A former university executive running on budget accountability, education reform and tougher environmental protections.
Supports: Budget deficit reduction of $300 million per year over five years, education reform with improved year 12 completion data and transparency, collaborative research into salmon farming alternatives such as selective breeding and vaccines and fair compensation for the greyhound racing industry through negotiation.
Opposes: Current salmon farming practices involving heavy antibiotic use, the continuation of greyhound racing on animal welfare grounds and what he describes as a lack of accountability at local councils.
Abby McKibben (Labor) – A long-time Huon resident who says healthcare failures, including ambulance shortages, are the biggest issue facing the valley.
Supports: Improved healthcare services for the Huon Valley, sustainable aquaculture with independent regulation, increased housing, childcare and transport services to match population growth and consistent transparency standards across all farming industries.
Opposes: The current state government’s handling of health commitments to the region, the operational shortfall of having the Huonville ambulance staffed by only two paramedics and frequently diverted to Hobart, and what she characterises as inadequate prioritisation of cost-of-living issues by the government.
Clare Glade-Wright (Independent) – Kingborough’s deputy mayor is running as a community independent backed by Voices of Franklin and endorsed by Peter George.
Supports: A Derwent Estuary–style waterway health program for the Channel and Huon estuaries, salmon farming within certain environmental parameters, a balanced budget approach using capital spending, operational spending and tax reform, an upper house inquiry into tax reform and regulatory changes to create a compliance pathway for tiny houses.
Does not support: The Macquarie Point stadium project and the assertion that the AFL team is contingent on the stadium being built.
Paul Gibson (Greens) – An architect and Huon Valley councillor running on climate, housing and stronger environmental limits on salmon farming.
Supports: Stronger environmental limits on salmon farming, banning the antibiotic florfenicol, increased investment in strategic planning for community-led development, exploring alternatives like warm water kelp farming and Greens policy positions on climate and the environment.
Opposes: The Hobart stadium spending, greyhound racing and government decision-making that he characterises as prioritising business interests over community outcomes.
Rosevears
Jo Palmer (Liberal) – The education minister is facing voters for the first time in six years after winning the seat by just 260 votes in 2020.
Supports: The recently negotiated three-year teacher pay agreement and a phase-out of the greyhound racing industry on animal welfare grounds.
Ben Mckinnon (Labor) – A long-serving teacher taking the fight on education directly to the minister responsible for it.
Supports: Reversing cuts to TAFE, stronger mental health systems in schools, addressing cost of living, healthcare reform, education reform, road safety and the continuation of the greyhound racing industry.
Opposes: The current state of Tasmania’s education system under the incumbent government
Charlene McLennan (Greens) – A family law solicitor contesting her third election in less than a year.
Supports: Increased state revenue from fossil fuels, mining royalties and the salmon industry; greater funding for hospitals, education and family support services; backing for Tamar Valley agriculture and small businesses; environmental and social resilience; clearer, more effective legislation drafting.
Opposes: The Macquarie Point stadium expenditure and what she claims are the major parties’ disregard of economic and planning advice on the stadium project.
Susan Monson (Independent) – A Beauty Point construction business owner and first-time candidate frustrated by red tape in housing and planning.
Supports: Reducing planning red tape and bushfire-rating triggers, making housing more affordable by reconsidering seven-star efficiency requirements, reforming sports grant processes to reduce the burden on volunteers, improving the greyhound racing industry rather than ending it and reviewing landslip-zone and development restrictions along the Tamar River.
Does not support: The current pace and volume of building regulations and reporting requirements, phasing out greyhound racing and grant application processes that require volunteers to produce extensive documentation.
Polls open at 8am on Saturday, May 2. Find out where to vote here.
