Tasmania is going to the polls again, making this its fourth state election in only seven years. The state has been through a lot of political trouble, with the Liberals, led by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, fighting Dean Winter and the Labour Party. The election comes after a no-confidence motion passed in June, which changed the political scene. This article talks about the 2025 Tasmanian State Election, including the Macquarie Point stadium debate and what it could mean for Tasmania’s future. It also talks about the background and main issues of the election.
The election is about a fight for control
Tasmanians will choose who will be in charge of their state government. Jeremy Rockliff, the Premier since 2022, is having a hard time getting re-elected. Under Dean Winter, the opposition Labour Party has been quick to attack Rockliff’s leadership, saying that rising debt, delayed infrastructure, and efforts to privatise state assets are all reasons for the no-confidence motion.
Important Dates and Times for the Election
- The polls open at 8 AM.
- The polls close at 6 PM.
- Counting the votes starts – Not long after the polls close
- First results are expected before 7 PM, but full results may take longer.
Important Issues – Debt, Leadership, and the Proposal for a Stadium
Fight for Leadership
The main candidates for the state’s top job are the Liberals and Labour:
- Jeremy Rockliff (Liberals) wants to serve a third term in a row, even though people have said bad things about how his government handles the economy.
- Dean Winter (Labour) wants to take Rockliff’s place after successfully pushing for the no-confidence motion. He says that the state’s debt is rising and outsourcing attempts are failing.
Who is making what promises in the election?
- Labour says it will fix the budget deficit and protect public assets. This includes healthcare reforms like Tassie Doc, which are meant to make it easier for people in Tasmania to get primary care.
- The Liberals’ main goal has been to stabilise Tasmania’s economy, yet they are getting a lot of criticism for poor economic management and a budget deficit that will likely reach almost $11 billion by the end of the decade.
The Plan for Macquarie Point Stadium
The proposed Macquarie Point Stadium has been an important topic in the election:
- Both the Liberals and the Labour Party support the project as they see it as the only way to keep Tasmania’s AFL team, the Devils, in the national competition.
- Some Independents and the Greens are against the project because they think it is a waste of resources.
- For a lot of voters, the stadium has become a key factor in how they vote, and some individuals have even altered their minds about the project.
Political Unrest – The Setting for the Election
Four elections in seven years
- Tasmania has had a lot of political instability, which has led to a lot of elections. This election is only 15 months after the last one, in which Rockliff led a hung parliament even though he lost 12% of the votes.
- Rockliff’s government was able to stay in power because he made a deal with the Jacqui Lambie Network to form a government.
Rockliff’s Test
- The vote of no confidence in June was the last straw for people who were unhappy with Rockliff’s leadership, which led to the early election call.
- Governor Barbara Baker accepted the dissolution of parliament, saying that the public had an interest in avoiding the cost of another election but that there was no real chance for a different government to form.
- Rockliff said that the election was “not what Tasmanians wanted,” but he had to run again after the Labour Party’s no-confidence motion.
What the Hare-Clark System Does
- Tasmania uses the Hare-Clark voting system, which makes it easy to quickly announce the first few seats in every district.
- It may take longer to call the last seats, especially if there is a minority government and every seat counts.
- It could take up to two weeks to find out who won if the race is close between the two main parties.
Predictions for the Election – A Hung Parliament?
- Jason Falinski, a former Liberal MP, has said that the election could lead to another hung parliament.
- A hung parliament would mean that politics would be broken because parties would have a hard time forming a stable government.
- Falinski was worried about how badly the state’s politics were working, saying that it was like a student representative council where political games are more important than the serious job of running a state.
The AFL Team and the Election
- A Future at Stake The political chaos surrounding the election could have a significant impact on Tasmania’s AFL team, which will join the league in 2028.
- The AFL’s agreement for Tasmania to have a team is determined by the proposal for a Macquarie Point stadium. This makes the election and the stadium project very important for the state’s future sports scene.
Final Thoughts – What does Tasmania’s future hold?
The people of Tasmania will choose their leaders for the next few years in this election. Premier Jeremy Rockliff has had a hard time with the economy, but Dean Winter says he will make things better by focusing on public assets and getting the budget back on track. Voters have to choose between two very different ideas about what the future of Tasmania should look like. The Macquarie Point stadium and the state’s budget deficit are two important issues that will affect the outcome.
The election also shows that politics are unstable in overall, since Tasmania has had four elections in the last seven years. If there is a hung parliament, it could make things even worse in politics, which would make it even harder for the next government to deal with important state issues like healthcare and infrastructure. This election will have long-lasting effects on the state’s political and economic future because so much is at stake.
