Since the election, the Greens have done everything possible to work across the Parliament to realise the changes we promised Tasmanians we’d fight for. Over the last weeks we met and spoke with Labor many times, and exchanged letters about the possibility of working together and providing them with confidence to form government.
From the beginning, the Greens expected some movement from Labor on the issues Tasmanians elected us to represent them on. Dean Winter’s Labor only secured 25 per cent of the vote. It is undemocratic and unrealistic for him to imagine he could get things 100 per cent his own way, be Premier, and control all of the next government’s policies with 10 votes out of 18.
Tasmanians voted for change from business as usual, however Dean Winter showed no intention or capacity to negotiate with the Greens, or make any policy compromises.
It’s not the basis for the good faith relationship needed to support a minority government. It didn’t build the trust needed to work together for four years. People who voted for the Greens deserve a demonstrated commitment to action upfront.
Labor communicated their final position to the Greens and the crossbench on Sunday. They would make no policy compromises on key issues like stopping the stadium and putting that money into health and housing, and reforms to protect the marine environment and native forests, or any of the other issues we raised with them.
Our voters expect us to be their voice in the Parliament. We were not going to fail them at the first hurdle. It’s why we made the decision not to provide confidence in Dean Winter to lead a Labor Government.
The Greens tried really hard to work with Labor to get better outcomes for Tasmanians. It’s deeply disappointing, and frustrating to be at this point.
The Greens weren’t alone. Labor’s inability to work collaboratively and make any compromises saw every other Crossbench member stand with us. Collectively, the Crossbench expressed lack of faith in a Dean Winter-led Labor Government, and voted against the Opposition leader’s motion.
To be clear – we don’t have confidence in Dean Winter’s Labor to form a minority government. And we don’t have confidence in the Liberal government either.
Recently, Premier Rockliff has announced several policy shifts – a moratorium on salmon farm expansions, a properly independent EPA, the complete overhaul of marine environment laws, a ban on greyhound racing, and ending their planned logging of 40,000 hectares of native forests.
On the surface, these appear to be significant changes to important issues the Greens have been campaigning for. It appears Jeremy Rockliff understands the minority Parliament within which he governs. However, his record implementing expert advice has been woeful. This has to change if he hopes to engender trust in the Tasmanian community.
We are understandably cautious and sceptical. The proof is in the pudding. We have called for concrete timelines from Jeremy Rockliff for legislative and regulatory actions. He needs to clarify some vague language in these announcements – for example, the ‘pause’ on ‘spatial expansion’ of salmon farms.
Every day in this Parliament, Premier Rockliff has only 14 votes in the House. Every day, he needs 4 other people to pass legislation, and provide confidence in his government. He will need to work to get it.
Goodwill and trust are critical to maintaining a functioning minority Parliament and ultimately stability. Trust needs to be earnt.
Since the election, the Greens and many Crossbench members have together established a positive foundation of trust. We are building new ways of working together, and shared goals for the progressive democratic Parliament we want to create.
In this Parliament, where neither Liberal nor Labor have confidence or the numbers in the House, the Greens will continue to work collaboratively. We won’t stop fighting for this island and its people, or holding the government to account.
This opinion piece was originally published in the Mercury on 21 August 2025.
