Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White has resigned, while independent power broker Jacqui Lambie is questioning why the ALP conceded Saturday’s election so quickly when it could have put together a minority government.
Announcing her resignation on Tuesday afternoon, Ms White said she takes “responsibility” for Labour’s performance in last weekend’s election, where it has won 10 seats in parliament so far.
Ms White said she would “provide support to my colleagues and whoever the next leader will be, and I will work alongside them to ensure we can deliver the change I know Tasmania deserves.”
But the Liberal Party also failed to win a majority, prompting Ms Lambie, a federal senator whose party won three seats, to tweet: “I’ve been thinking about this all day – and I’m baffled by it – why would I for peace’s sake? TasLabor giving in so quickly?
‘Why shouldn’t they wait for the end result – in honor of their voters and their party workers! It’s like they don’t even want to govern!’
Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White has resigned after leading her party to three consecutive election losses and after Jacqui Lambie (pictured) questioned whether Labor even wants to govern the state
The Liberals, led by Jeremy Rockliff, appear to be on track to win fifteen seats, fewer than the eighteen needed to govern independently.
Mr Rockliff, the country’s only Liberal prime minister, has contacted both Lambie’s party and two independents.
Labor, which has claimed 10 seats, admitted on Sunday it would not be able to form a government.
However, that sparked outrage from supporters who said Labor should have tried to build a minority government with the crossbenchers and the support of four elected Greens.
“Crazy stuff… By crazy I mean the counting is still fucking going on!!!” tweeted Greg Jericho, an economist at the left-leaning Australia Institute.
‘Labor still has to fight to get into government!!!’
The Greens claim Labor has ‘gifted’ the government to the Coalition.
Adding to the intrigue, ALP staffer Bronwyn Clark told The Australian’s Jenna Clarke that Ms White had been ‘eliminated’ behind the scenes by Labor operatives.
“(She) is not a coward and she is not a coward. “She would have been there and done it all if she hadn’t been treated so badly and eliminated behind the scenes,” Ms Clarke said.
Ms Lambie said her successful candidates, who will be announced as counting continues, will meet with Mr Rockliff at Easter. She said her party would not seek ministerial positions and would raise issues such as government transparency, healthcare, housing and education.
“What we want is stability in Tasmania,” she told ABC Radio on Monday.
“And if we don’t get that stability, we will probably end up with another election in three months. I don’t want Tasmania to do that.”
She said her party members want to see a government with supply and confidence.
“(But) that doesn’t guarantee them that we will vote with them on every piece of legislation,” she said, adding that such an arrangement would be a good thing because “it keeps them on their toes.”
The senator was highly critical of the Liberals, particularly their plans for a new $715 million Hobart stadium tied to the state’s contract for an AFL team.
But one of her party candidates who may win a seat supports the stadium.
To get the green light, the project must be voted on by the state parliament.
Liberal deputy leader Michael Ferguson said he was hopeful of delivering on the party’s election promises and vowed to work constructively.
Ms White (pictured) said she takes ‘responsibility’ for Labour’s poor performance in Saturday’s election, where it fell far short of forming a government
“The new members of the Jacqui Lambie Network say they want to see stability,” he told reporters.
“I’m sure they have other things they want to bring to the discussion.”
Rockliff admitted Sunday that the Liberals had taken a “bit of a kick” on the stadium and other issues, with their first preference vote falling by 12 per cent.
He has also reached out to left-wing independent Kristie Johnston and independent David O’Byrne, a decades-long Labor member and former leader.
Tasmania went to the polls more than a year early after the Liberals failed to resolve a deadlock between the minority government and two former party independents.
Mr O’Byrne said a new government must take into account the way it negotiates.
“If they want a… crash-through approach in this parliament, I can guarantee you they will crash,” he told reporters.
Four seats remain in doubt, with the state’s election commission expecting the count to continue until April 6 with a final declaration on April 10.
It was Ms White’s third attempt to become prime minister, with her party taking 29 percent of the vote.
