PEMBROKE (2022 margin ALP vs Lib 13.3%)
Slightly delayed by a three-week bump to avoid a clash with the federal election, the Tasmanian Legislative Council elections will be upon us soon enough and I need to get cracking on my Pembroke guide because the fur is flying and things are gettin dirrrrty! Recently I released my usual survey of the Council's voting patterns. Link to Nelson guide is here and link to Montgomery here. Nominations close on May 1. There will be live coverage of all three seats here on the night of May 24 and as required through the postcount.
The current numbers in the Council are four Liberal, three Labor, one Green and seven independents, with the independents ranging fairly evenly across the political spectrum. Labor gives up one vote on the floor and in the committee stages because it holds the Presidency, and as a result there are currently fine balances between major party and other MLCs (6-8 on the floor) and party and non-party MLCs (7-7 on the floor). The balance between the major parties could be interesting if Labor actually opposes anything, but in the last year that happened only twice in contested divisions, leading me to classify the party's voting pattern as "Right" for the first time ever.
This year sees a vacancy for the retirement of Leonie Hiscutt (Liberal), the first defence for left-wing independent Meg Webb, and the subject of this article, the first defence for Labor's Luke Edmunds.
