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Tasmania s Liberal Party has secured a majority government by winning a crucial 13th seat in the state s lower house.
After a lengthy wait following the 1 May poll, preference distributions delivered the seat in the Hobart-based electorate of Clark to Liberal Madeleine Ogilvie on Wednesday night.
Premier Peter Gutwein, who claimed victory on election night, had pledged to step down if the party couldn t secure majority in the 25-member lower house.
Ms Ogilvie, a former Labor MP and independent, was among a field of four candidates jostling for two in-doubt seats in Clark.
Under Tasmania s Hare-Clark voting system, five MPs are elected in each of the state s five electorates.
Polls have closed in Tasmania as the state decides whether sitting Liberal Premier Peter Gutwein will lead the state for another term, or if Rebecca White has pulled enough votes to take Labor to an unlikely victory.
Calling an election a year ahead of schedule, Mr Gutwein hopes he will be able to cash in on the pandemic-driven success other state premiers have enjoyed had at the ballot box, while Ms White aims for an odds-defying win, or to at least to plunge the Liberals into minority.
If Mr Gutwein is successful in securing a third term, it will be a record-breaking night for the Tasmanian Liberal Party, marking the first time a Liberal government has won three consecutive elections.
(Image: Private Media)
The small polity of Tasmania has always been a knot of contradictions. A week out from the state election, in which the Liberal Party are seeking a third consecutive term for the first time in the state’s history, this holds.
Both Premier Peter Gutwein and Labor leader Rebecca White have pledged they will not lead a minority government. But for several reasons, this may well be the reality one of them faces after May 1.
There’s Tasmania’s Hare-Clark voting system which divides the state into five electoral divisions that each return five members through proportional representation and is primarily good for generating a “confused? Let me explain” style explainer every few years.
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First home owners boost puts more in pockets of tasmanians
The Property Council welcomes today’s major announcement by the Tasmanian Liberal Party to boost the First Home Owners Grant from $20,000 to $30,000 until 30 June 2022 if re-elected.
Tasmanian Executive Director Rebecca Ellston applauded the policy and said increasing the grant to $30,000 will deliver a boost to the construction industry, and supercharge the capacity of younger Tasmanians trying to break into the housing market.
“We know that younger Tasmanians in particular are facing big challenges in entering the housing market with the median dwelling value in Tasmania rising 12.5 per cent over the past 12 months alone. An increase to the First Home Owners Grant will go a long way in helping first home owners secure a home.”