Tasmanians go to the polls next weekend, in an early election brought on by Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockcliff, whose party has fractured during its ten years in office but is currently warning voters not to elect a Labor minority government, which he’s been calling a ‘Coalition of Chaos’.
One of the most beautiful and tragic places on Earth, Tasmania’s genocidal history reportedly inspired H.G. Wells to write The War of the Worlds, and is the location of some of the tallest trees on the planet, as well as the only Australian state with an extinct animal on its number plates and coat of arms.
Although the island has just over half a million people, Tasmania has a number of over-size problems, including a failing health system, highly concentrated media, record numbers of homeless people, and major environmental challenges.
Even more than on the mainland, the local Liberal and Labor parties’ policies are difficult to differentiate, driving an increasing number of voters into the arms of the Greens and the Jacqui Lambie Network. The Hare-Clark voting system makes it difficult for unpopular major parties to sweep the pool.
There’s also a history in the island state of party representatives quitting mid-term, or becoming independents if they can’t get what they want, making the political situation even more complex.
As the last elected Liberal leader to remain standing in Australia, the stakes are high for former farmer Jeremy Rockcliff in this election, having been elevated suddenly in April 2022 after the sudden departure of previous Premier Peter Gutwein.
Chocolate!
The Rockcliff family are known in Tasmania for their creation of a giant fibreglass and concrete potato called ‘Kenny’, in the rural community of Sassafras, where the premier still lives. Now he has other big things in mind. While largely ignoring the substantive issues in this election, Mr Rockliff has been going hard on the bread and circuses angle, or in this case, chocolate factory tours and an AFL stadium.
Those who remember Cadbury’s low key chocolate factory tours in the past are now being urged to dream big, Willy Wonka style, with a ‘chocolate experience’ (including the world’s biggest chocolate fountain). ‘If you build it, they will come!’ Also in the premier’s grand vision, a $715 million-plus AFL stadium is to dominate the choice real estate of Hobart’s Macquarie Point.
In Liberal terms, Jeremy Rockliff is a moderate (he supported the Voice to Parliament for example), but he has not succeeded in pulling his divided party together, so far.
Labor leader Rebecca White, who also grew up on a farm, has said if elected she’ll improve life for struggling renters, expand the health system and cut power prices, but her earlier bold policy to do something serious about Tasmania’s pokie epidemic has been firmly shelved, and neither she nor the premier have announced any plans to do something about the behaviour of private companies destroying Tasmania waterways and Antarctic krill (particularly via toxic fish farms), or halting the heavily subsidised destruction of the state’s remaining forests, despite their national and global significance.
Kill stuff and multiply
From a mainland perspective, those whose ancestors were sent to Tasmania as convicts seem to resent the strange and unique beauty of the place, destroying it at every opportunity, while more recent arrivals have waged some of the world’s most significant environmental campaigns on the island, including the battles to save Lake Pedder, the Franklin River, and the Tarkine.
The ideological and spiritual struggle between these two groups define Tasmanian politics, with figures like Bob Brown, Eric Abetz, Christine Milne and Brian Harradine emerging periodically from the maelstrom to affect the national conversation as well. Unfortunately, nothing seems to really change south of Bass Strait.
Like the thylacine last century, unique species being nudged into oblivion in Tasmania right now, such as the Maugean skate and the swift parrot, are apparently of zero concern to the major parties, who are focused instead on keeping the minor parties out of the contest as much as possible. The Greens have been alone in calling attention to these issues.
With an extra ten seats up for grabs this time (a restoration of the earlier system of representation), some kind of minority government, or at least a very large crossbench, seems highly likely. Tasmania goes to the polls on Saturday 23 March.
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning film-maker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
Long ago, he did work experience in Parliament House with Mungo MacCallum.
Another election and another endless list of disinformation, misinformation and lies, many of the population just switched off from the white noise. Just this week another local newspaper posted a full page political ad that was nothing put a list of contrived blatant anti-renewable lies. Not a policy in sight just pathetic repetitive predictable nonsense.
Why, because they can, thats why! It’s all over our far right owned media, radio, TV, newspapers, drowning out any facts or truth.
I actually rang the paper and said, look I know there’s no law against lying in political advertising in NSW, like there is in Sth Aust and the ACT, but isn’t there an editor or someone, anyone that can just say no to these endless obvious contrived nonsense being churned out by would be political candidates whose party has no policies other than obstruction of renewable energy, for the fossil fuel billionaires that bankroll their party?
The usual response, send us an email with your complaints, “THAT WE WILL JUST IGNORE”!
If one political party says it’s sunny and fine and the other says it’s raining and may flood, you don’t write both opinions, the media should stick it’s head out the window and give the reader the truth and real facts. These days of opinion dressed as news has to stop!
My point is, how are people supposed to get real factual information to make critical decisions, on whom to vote for in this country with this going on in our media? Probably 75% of the population hear nothing but fossil fuel billionaire bankrolled misinformation in our media?
I believe the first priority of this nation should be, to stop the fossil fuel billionaire anti-renewable lies, “Dressed as opinion”, in our corporate media.
Social media is another problem, but is easily avoided, but surly it cannot be that difficult for our Govt to legislate to shut down the anti-renewable 5th columnist operating in the dark shadows of our MSM, that has been for decades drowning the media narrative in a sea of contrived LNPee?
The far-right doesn’t own any radio, TV, newspapers. Those are right of centre Conservatives. If they are pro-Israel, they are Conservatives.
The local far right talkback radio station, pumped out of Sydney and Newcastle, point blank refuses to allow anyone to speak out against their fossil fuel bankrolled LNP/Hanson party’s, only permitting the same dozen or so anti-environment anti-vacc cookers and assorted extremist to speak on air. Thats about as far right as you can get isn’t it? Ring the local station management and their only reply is, don’t listen? No wonder no one listens to local radio. The advertisers must be crazy giving them money, hoping there are possible customers listening to radio? Our media is an insult to fair and balanced democracy and without any real legislation in NSW for balanced media, they don’t give a s–t! TV, 9,7, 10 are basically just a promo for the fossil fuel funded LNP, especially, the now Morrison stacked ABC board and management!
If all you’re going to do is call Conservative ‘far-right’, they will hang up on you. They don’t like us very much. Far right media will engage with you, and they do it respectfully. If you know your stuff well enough, some of them would be happy to interview you live on air, and let you field calls from the listeners. Corporate and Government Media, are indeed a joke. They are not interested in dialogue, heated or otherwise, they are just there to push an agenda unchallenged. They are simply a distraction for the masses. Far-left and far-right actually agree on most things, simply with different reasoning, but what we want is in opposition to the owners of this world.
Morrison stacked board and management
Tweed ? Oh you mean the same ABC who
Employees Zero did you read that correctly
Tweed Zero conservative presenter’s !
Seriously man are you for real ? Ita
Was the lone voice for the conservatives
Before her appointment..however that changed ever so quickly, when Ita became
The latest victim of the Bias ABC ..her tune
Changed and how ! The ABC run by the staff
for the Staff.. and the Morrison Government
Has only itself to blame they had how many
Years to reform the ABC ..and did FA !
Craig, as usual, don’t let facts prevent you repeating the usual & oft-repeated IPA, Sky, Murdoch, LNP & Sydney Institute bleating nonsense. Doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
You obviously don’t bother watching or listening to the ABC or you’d be fully aware of the views & political allegiances of leading presenters Amanda Vanstone, Fauziah Ibrahim & David Speers.
Tom Switzer recently resigned from his daily show to take up a Lib Party tank tank job, formerly stood for Lib preselection – & a good thing too, it was virtually unlistenable under his clear dry-retching bias.
Others who left the ABC so as not even attempt to mask their bias any longer include Mark Simkin who was Tony Abbott’s press secretary & Chris Uhlmann was a protege & spin doctor of failed arch-conservative Sky favourite MP Paul Osborne. And let’s not forget the reprehensible Pru Goward.
The SMH did a story a 1 or 2 years ago which listed the number of ABC journos who became politicians, from memory something like 10 were ALP & 8 LNP, while board management numbers were 2:1 in favour of LNP – not surprising given the length of time LNP were in power & their usual board-stacking jobs for the mates scenarios. Facts Craig, facts.
What you say does not fit the data. Bitchute: Climate the movie
You may be interested in this, from the “Hartmann report” out of the USA.
“Foreclosure King” Steve Mnuchin may organize a bid to buy TikTok. One of the big points Viktor Orbán made when he addressed CPAC in Dallas last year was that Republicans needed to own all of American media and social media, like he and his oligarch cronies have done in Hungary and Putin has done in Russia.
You maybe interested in hearing Australian Nat Socs complaints that Conservative Media and Events refuse to engage with anyone that has different ideas to them, left or right – odysee.com: Housing & Infrastructural chaos, oppression of the Australian working class and “Christian Extremism”
Of course the Labor opposition can’t promise everything the Greens et al can promise. The might actually form government- with any luck. It’s political science, not rocket science.
The current Labor goverments won’t have to deal with the outcomes of their green policies.
By contrast, we’re all dealing with the global head-in-the-sand policies of the last few decades.
The ALP in Tasmania didn’t even have control of their own branch until a week before the Election was called.
It was controlled by the Federal Party for some years, because of Tasmanian infighting, until it was quickly transferred back when election noises started.
Now they want to control Tasmania?
Yeah, right!
Incidentally, Murdoch publishes only one newspaper a day in Tasmania which is only read around Hobart.
Launceston and Burnie/Launceston have their own, non-Murdoch papers … some “concentration”!
The Greens vote in Tasmania has been shrinking to being around the 3 University sites in Hobart, Launceston, and a tiny amount of support in Burnie. It also has support south of Hobart where a lot of blow-ins now reside.
Elsewhere in Tasmania, they struggle to get into double figures and usually don’t achieve that.
Incidentally if, “The ideological and spiritual struggle between these two groups define Tasmanian politics,”, please explain Jacqui Lambie
Her Party appears to be giving both the ALP and The Greens a run for their money to the extent that there is a chance that she will win the same number of seats as The Greens.
BS Jimie. Have you actually spent any time there?
The Mercury is everywhere statewide, as is the Daily Terrorgraph & the un-Australian. Murdoch dominates Tassie too.
If Greens vote are just around the Universities, doesn’t it tell you it is the preferred party of the smart & educated, the critical thinkers? Of course more anti-intellectual bias from the incapable.
Youtube: Why Smart People Believe Stupid Things
Actually, I am there regularly because I have a house down there so as to escape heat and humidity from time to time.
Contrary to your assertion,The Mercury is rarely seen in the North, the Northeast, and certainly not the North West.
I have never seen a Daily Telegraph in the north outside of Launceston airport and the only Australian seen is the weekend edition.
As for the proliferation of Green students around the University, I prefer to call it successful brainwashing. They tend to grow out of it quickly in Tassie.
It appears that I know Tasmania far better than your good self and your own BS attempt at spin
Not sorry to burst your bubble Jim, I lived there for 12 years. Murdoch papers dominated, still do.
Murdoch newspapers dominate in most centres.
It’s your bubble N. No See.
You wrote the word ‘USED” My experience there is 16 years of home ownership and still going.
Did you live in Hobart or its surrounds? I suspect so.
Murdoch does NOT dominate Tasmania, His rag is RARELY seen in the northern half of the State.
Ironically, the Murdoch Rag is the sole paper in the ALP/Green South while the Australian Community Media Green/ALP rags, Examiner, and Mercury are the sole papers in the Liberal/JNL North.
You left Tasmania too long ago and it’s now become your delusional spin, Comrade.
“If Greens vote are just around the Universities, doesn’t it tell you it is the preferred party of the smart & educated, the critical thinkers?” Or tribalism?
The Rockliff has a thing about ‘chaos’ that he puts on the other parties, never mind his own side’s chaos that saw Liberal MP’s desert the sinking Liberal ship and fly their Independent flag.
As the election results start to tally the Rockliff himself will need ‘others’ to have any hope of being Premier again.
Jacqi Lambie might just have the last laugh after Team Rockliff tried to stick it to the Jacqi with that lambienetwork.com.au attack business
The Rockliff moans that the voters didn’t decide to change the government despite the Libbies primary vote taking a flogging is kind of strange logic. He might just get have to cobble together his own “Coalition of Chaos”.