Cassy O'Connor MP | Greens Leader
It’s a great day for democracy.
Twenty-four years after the numbers were cut from 35 to 25 MPs, the House of Assembly took a big step forward today, unanimously passing the Expansion of House of Assembly Bill 2022.
In 1998, the Liberal and Labor parties made a cynical deal to try to remove the Greens from Parliament by cutting the size of the House of Assembly.
Lutruwita/Tasmania has suffered the consequences of a weaker democracy and poor governance ever since.
In cutting the number of MPs, Parliament's talent pool became shallower, scrutiny was reduced, and Ministers were massively overloaded. The ability of overloaded Ministers and MPs to properly represent their constituents was also diminished.
These negative outcomes are why the Greens have been such strong advocates for restoration, pushing successive governments towards enacting this much-needed reform.
Restoring the House to 35 seats will mean a stronger democracy, improved governance, better scrutiny, and Tasmanians from all walks of life better represented.
While we may not always see eye-to-eye with Premier Rockliff, on this issue we congratulate him for doing the right thing for the future of the State.
He has delivered where many of his predecessors failed.
We look forward to debate on the Bill in the Legislative Council, and encourage all our colleagues upstairs to support this vital reform.