Tasmanian Liberals present draft ‘stability agreement’ to independent backbenchers

ABC NEWS (Australia)

In Tasmania, the battle for political power has shifted from the ballot box to the backroom. Premier Jeremy Rockliff has given a draft 'stability' agreement to independent members of parliament, seeking support for a minority liberal government. Labor-turned-independent MP David O’Byrne says he hasn't decided which party he will side with.

Transcript

00:00We still have to wait for the final seats to be decided.

00:05There's still some postal votes to be counted

00:07and under the Hare Clerk system,

00:09the preferences will start to flow at the end of next week

00:11and we'll find out the make-up of the Parliament.

00:14I've been in discussions with both the Labor leader

00:17and the Liberal leader about how they propose to move forward

00:22and gain the support of the House.

00:24And in those discussions, it really does,

00:26in terms of my perspective and my view,

00:28it really does, in the first instance,

00:31it needs to be proven that they're able to not only win the first vote

00:34of confidence on the floor and be commissioned,

00:37but they're able to have systems in place

00:40that will sustain a Parliament into the long term

00:43and that's a complicated process.

00:46And whilst I'm very respectful of the people that voted for me

00:49as an independent, I don't get to ride veto.

00:52I will have a say and I need to respect that we need to form a Parliament

00:57and both the major parties and also the Green Party,

01:00they managed to garner close to 75% of the vote.

01:04We need to respect that and we need to get on with it.

01:05So those discussions are continuing and it's a complex process.

01:10Yeah, I'm sure it is.

01:11David, do you feel like you're being wooed?

01:13I mean, I know you hadn't spoken to Dean Winter in quite a long time.

01:17You say you have respect for Jeremy Rockliffe as leader.

01:20Does it feel like you're being wooed?

01:22Well, I suppose I've been in this spot before

01:25and I've been around politics and Parliament for some time now

01:30and if this is wooing, it's not working.

01:36It's more of a case of sitting down and working out.

01:38I'm not trading policies.

01:40I'm not going to...

01:41And I think it's important that people talk about the structure

01:44of Parliament and the process as opposed to my, you know,

01:47bucket list of items that I want resolved.

01:50Twelve months ago, when I was elected to the crossbench

01:54and played a role in allowing government to form,

01:57it wasn't about trading off issues.

02:00It wasn't about anything apart from,

02:02if you treat me well, you know my values.

02:04It's confidence and supply.

02:06I'll deal with each piece of legislation,

02:09each issue on its merits.

02:11I removed my confidence for the former Treasurer

02:14and Infrastructure Minister, Michael Ferguson,

02:16on the basis that he'd lost my confidence

02:18and Parliament was still able to continue

02:20and government was able to form.

02:22So, they're good discussions.

02:23They're open.

02:25It's very difficult when one party doesn't have the numbers

02:29in of itself to form a government

02:33without the need of the crossbench

02:35and so they need to convince me and other people

02:37that they're able to do it for the long term.

02:39Yeah, I mean, it's admirable to keep an open mind.

02:43David, one final thought.

02:44You mentioned how well the Greens had done,

02:46but the ALP got its lowest ever vote.

02:48What do you put that down to?

02:50Well, it is...

02:51It was a very terrible, awful result for Labor.

02:54The lowest result, 25% of the primary vote.

02:57I remember a time when there was discussions

03:00about how bad it was when we went below 40%

03:02for the primary vote.

03:04I think others will form their judgment,

03:07but at the end of the day,

03:09clearly the Labor Party, with that result,

03:12had not convinced people that they were ready to govern

03:14and that they had an agenda that they could vote for.

03:19Arguably, the Liberal Party,

03:21whilst they have a higher vote,

03:23there was a question mark about them as well.

03:25So, the Green vote was basically the same

03:27and so there's a number of independents

03:30on the crossbench now

03:31and we need to respect the will of the people

03:33and try and make this parliament work

03:35and allow a government to form,

03:38but it has to be sustainable.

03:40I was a member of a...

03:42..in a 25-seat house over a decade ago

03:45and a member of the Labor Party

03:47when we had 10 members

03:48and 10 members in a 25-seat house was difficult.

03:5210 members in a 35-seat house is going to be very difficult.

03:55So, I'm going to need to be convinced

03:56that they're able to build a sustainable government

03:59off those numbers.

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