Good evening, in this special 10 News Update, the Tasmanian election and the Green
Independents look like holding the balance of power in the new parliament.
They've already won four seats and could win up to six of the 35 in the House of
Assembly. Reporter Nick McCallum joins us from Hobart with more.
There have been huge swings against both the Liberal and the Labor parties. The
big winners, the Green Independents. It now appears certain they'll hold the
balance of power in the next Tasmanian Parliament. Of the 35 seat lower house,
it appears the Liberals will hold 17 seats, the Labor party 13 or 14 and the
in the Green Independents four or five. Not one group will hold a majority. What
that means is that Liberal Premier Robin Gray will probably go to the
Governor saying he can form a minority government. That arrangement will be
tested in Parliament next month. If Mr. Gray feels he's not getting enough
legislation through, it's being blocked by a combination of the Labor party and
the Independents, he'll probably go back to the Governor requesting a fresh
election. The Governor then has a choice. He can grant that election or he can say
to the opposition, the Labor party, can you form a minority government and
they'll try again. So the future of Tasmania tonight politically is uncertain.
None of the leaders have come to the tele room as yet so they're still
obviously making plans. So just repeating, the Green Independents will hold the
balance of power in the next Tasmanian Parliament. Back to you in the studio, Ann.
Thank you Nick McCallum in Hobart and we've just been told in spite of the
trend, the Liberal Party officials haven't given up hope of governing in
their own right. Now another electoral news from Brisbane tonight. The Liberal
Party has won the by-election for the seat of Mertha with a big swing away
from the governing National Party. The Liberal Santo Santoro has 5,469 votes,
well ahead of Barbara Dawson and the Nationals Betty Byrne Henderson. Of
course we'll have full details in the next Maine Bulletin of 10 News tomorrow
for now from 10 News we hope you have a good evening.