# 2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election

The 2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election were held on 4 May 2024 to elect three members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council. The seats of Hobart and Prosser were up for election, with a by-election for the seat of Elwick also held concurrently.
The Liberal Party retained Prosser with a swing towards them, while the Tasmanian Greens won their first upper house seat with a victory in Hobart. The Labor Party lost the Elwick by-election to independent candidate Bec Thomas.

## Background

Unlike other Australian state parliaments, the Tasmanian House of Assembly is elected from multi-member districts, while the Legislative Council is elected from single-member districts. The reverse is the case in most of the rest of Australia; that is, the lower house is elected from single-member districts while the upper house is elected from multi-member districts.
The Legislative Council has 15 seats, with members elected to a six-year term. Elections are staggered, alternating between three seats in one year and in two seats the next year, taking place on the first Saturday in May.
Tasmanian's upper house is unique in Australian politics, in that historically it is the only chamber in any state parliament to be significantly non-partisan. As of 2024, the chamber has a plurality of independents, although it has previously had an outright independent majority.

## Electoral system

Legislative Council elections use partial preferential voting and the Robson Rotation. In elections with four or less candidates, full preferential voting is effectively used, but for seats with five or more candidates, voters only have to number at least three boxes.
* Where there are more than 3 candidates, at least number 1, 2 and 3
* Where there are 3 candidates, at least number 1 and 2
* Where there are 2 candidates, at least number 1

## Hobart

The seat of Hobart, based in the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, has been held by independent member Rob Valentine since 2012; he announced he will not recontest. Former Tasmanian House of Assembly MP and former state Greens leader Cassy O'Connor announced she will contest Hobart.

### Hobart results

2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election: Hobart :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Greens | Cassy O'Connor | 7,104 | 36.86 | +36.86 |
| | Independent | John Kelly | 4,287 | 22.24 | +22.24 |
| | Labor | John Kamara | 3,578 | 18.57 | +18.57 |
| | Independent | Charlie Burton | 2,615 | 13.57 | +13.57 |
| | Independent | Stefan Vogel | 725 | 3.76 | +3.76 |
| | Independent | Sam Campbell | 522 | 2.71 | +2.71 |
| | Independent | Michael Haynes | 441 | 2.29 | +2.29 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 19,272 | 97.49 | +0.42 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 497 | 2.51 | –0.42 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,769 | 80.56 | +4.14 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 24,538 | | |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Greens | Cassy O'Connor | 11,236 | 59.70 | +59.70 |
| | Independent | John Kelly | 7,586 | 40.30 | +40.30 |
| | Greens gain from Independent | Greens gain from Independent | | | |

## Prosser

The east coast seat of Prosser has been held by Jane Howlett of the Liberal Party since 2018. She announced she would run in the state election in the seat of Lyons. She resigned on the 27th February 2024, as the resignation occurred near the scheduled periodic election in Prosser, no by-election was required. Former Deputy Premier of Tasmania and Leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party in Tasmania, Bryan Green, was endorsed by Labor to run in the seat. The mayor of the Sorell Council Kerry Vincent was announced as the Liberal Party candidate.

### Prosser results

2024 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election: Prosser :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Kerry Vincent | 8,276 | 38.49 | +12.36 |
| | Labor | Bryan Green | 6,176 | 28.75 | +6.83 |
| | Shooters, Fishers, Farmers | Phillip Bigg | 2,664 | 12.40 | +6.83 |
| | Independent | Pam Sharpe | 2,378 | 11.07 | +11.07 |
| | Independent | Kelly Spaulding | 1,995 | 9.29 | +7.34 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 21,480 | 96.17 | +1.18 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 856 | 3.83 | –1.18 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,336 | 81.46 | –5.02 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,419 | | |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Liberal | Kerry Vincent | 11,186 | 52.93 | +0.27 |
| | Labor | Bryan Green | 9,949 | 47.07 | –0.27 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +0.27 | |

## Elwick by-election

A by-election for the seat of Elwick was also held with the periodic elections, following the resignation of incumbent MLC Josh Willie.
Willie, a member of the Labor Party, was first elected in 2016 and was re-elected in 2022.
He announced on the 26 November 2023 that he would run in the next state election in the seat of Clark. After the 2024 Tasmanian state election was announced, he resigned on 27 February.

### Candidates

The mayor of the City of Glenorchy, Bec Thomas announced in March that she would contest the by-election.
Barrister Fabiano Cangelosi sought Labor endorsement without any reciprocal requirement to vote with other Labor MPs. He resigned from the party to contest as an independent. Labor later endorsed Tessa McLaughlin as their candidate.
| Party | Candidate | Background |
| Independent | Bec Thomas | Mayor of Glenorchy |
| Labor | Tessa McLaughlin | Electrician |
| Greens | Janet Shelley | Sustainability expert |
| Independent | Fabiano Cangelosi | Barrister |

### Elwick results

2024 Elwick state by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Bec Thomas | 6,208 | 33.93 | +33.93 |
| | Labor | Tessa McLaughlin | 5,194 | 28.39 | –24.15 |
| | Greens | Janet Shelley | 3,476 | 19.00 | –2.06 |
| | Independent | Fabiano Cangelosi | 3,417 | 18.66 | +18.66 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 18,295 | 95.73 | –0.63 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 816 | 4.27 | +0.63 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,111 | 80.74 | +2.71 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 23,669 | | |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Independent | Bec Thomas | 9,758 | 53.34 | +53.34 |
| | Labor | Tessa McLaughlin | 8,537 | 46.66 | –5.88 |
| | Independent gain from Labor | Independent gain from Labor | | | |