Tasmanian Government

Tasmanian Government

State Government
Coat of arms of Tasmania
Formation	1856 as responsible colonial government; 1 January 1901; 120 years ago (1901-01-01) as an Australian state
Founding document	Constitution of Tasmania
State	Tasmania
Country	Australia
Website	tas.gov.au
Legislative branch
Legislature	Parliament of Tasmania Tasmanian Legislative Council Tasmanian House of Assembly
Meeting place	Parliament House
Executive branch
Vice-regal representative	Governor
Main body	Cabinet of Tasmania
Head of government	Premier
Appointer	Governor
Headquarters	Parliament House
Main organ	Executive Council of Tasmaina
Judicial branch
Court	Supreme Court
Seat	Supreme Court building, Hobart

The Tasmanian Government is the executive authority of the state of Tasmania, Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania, is invited by the governor of Tasmania to form government. The head of government is the premier of Tasmania.

Since the 20 January 2020, the premier of Tasmania has been Peter Gutwein, leader of the Liberal Party. The current ministry of Tasmania is the Second Gutwein Ministry, formed on 19 May 2021 and comprising nine of the 13 Liberal members in the House of Assembly and one in the Legislative Council.

Constitutional framework[]

Tasmania is governed according to the principles of the Westminster System, a form of parliamentary responsible government based on the model of the United Kingdom. Legislative power rests with the bicameral Parliament of Tasmania, which consists of the governor of Tasmania (the sovereign), and the two chambers: the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly.^[1]

Executive power rests formally with the Executive Council, which consists of the governor and senior ministers, and informally called the Cabinet. In practice, executive power is exercised by the premier of Tasmania upon the advice of the Cabinet, who are appointed by the governor, but who hold office by virtue of their ability to command the support of a majority of members of the House of Assembly.

Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court of Tasmania and a system of subordinate courts. As with all states, upon federation, Tasmania accepted the authority of the federal High Court of Australia to overrule the state judiciary.

Current Ministry[]

The current ministry of Tasmania is the Second Gutwein Ministry, formed on 19 May 2021 and comprising nine Liberal members, eight of whom sit in the House of Assembly, and one in the Legislative Council:

Minister	Portfolio	Portrait	Party		Opposition counterpart	Portfolio	Portrait	Party
Peter Gutwein MP	Premier Minister for Climate Change Minister for Tourism			Liberal	Rebecca White MP	Leader of the Opposition Shadow Minister for Tourism Shadow Minister for Climate Change			Labor
	Treasurer				Shane Broad MP	Shadow Treasurer			Labor
Jeremy Rockliff MP	Deputy Premier Minister for Advanced Manufacturing and Defence Industries			Liberal	Anita Dow MP	Deputy Leader of the Opposition Shadow Minister for Advanced Manufacturing and Defence Industries			Labor
	Minister for Health Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing				Bastian Seidel MLC	Shadow Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing			Labor
	Minister for Community Services and Development				Jo Siejka MLC	Shadow Minister for Community Services and Development			Labor
Elise Archer MP	Attorney-General Minister for Justice Minister for Corrections			Liberal	Ella Haddad MP	Shadow Attorney-General Shadow Minister for Justice Shadow Minister for Corrections Shadow Minister for Equality and Multicultural Affairs			Labor
	Minister for the Arts				Michelle O'Byrne MP	Shadow Minister for the Arts and Creative Industries			Labor
	Minister for Workplace Safety and Consumer Affairs				Sarah Lovell MLC	Shadow Minister for Workplace Relations			Labor
					Jen Butler MP	Shadow Minister for Building and Consumer Affairs			Labor
Michael Ferguson MP	Minister for Science and Technology			Liberal		Shadow Minister for ICT and Science
	Minister for Infrastructure and Transport				Rebecca White MP	Shadow Minister for Infrastructure			Labor
					Josh Willie MLC	Shadow Minister for Transport			Labor
	Minister for State Development, Construction and Housing				Anita Dow MP	Shadow Minister for Housing and Construction			Labor
					Dean Winter MP	Shadow Minister for Economic Development			Labor
	Leader of the House Minister for Finance					Leader of Opposition Business Shadow Minister for Finance
Guy Barnett MP	Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction			Liberal		Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction
	Minister for Resources Minister for Trade				Shane Broad MP	Shadow Minister for Resources Shadow Minister for Trade			Labor
	Minister for Primary Industries and Water				Janie Finlay MP	Shadow Minister for Primary Industries and Water Shadow Minister for Start Ups			Labor
	Minister for Veterans' Affairs				Jen Butler MP	Shadow Minister for Veterans Affairs			Labor
Sarah Courtney MP	Minister for Hospitality and Events			Liberal	Rebecca White MP	Shadow Minister for Hospitality and Events			Labor
	Minister for Children and Youth				Sarah Lovell MLC	Shadow Minister for Child Safety			Labor
					Jo Siejka MLC	Shadow Minister for Youth Shadow Minister for Ageing			Labor
	Minister for Disability Services					Shadow Minister for Disability
	Minister for Education Minister for Skills, Training and Workforce Growth				Josh Willie MLC	Shadow Minister for Education and Early Years Shadow Minister for TAFE, University and Skills and Training			Labor
Jane Howlett MLC	Minister for Sport and Recreation Minister for Small Business			Liberal		Shadow Minister for Sport
	Minister for Racing				Dean Winter MP	Shadow Minister for Racing			Labor
	Minister for Women				Michelle O'Byrne MP	Shadow Minister for Women			Labor
Roger Jaensch MP	Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Minister for Heritage Minister for State Growth			Liberal		Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Shadow Minister for Heritage
	Minister for Local Government and Planning				Anita Dow MP	Shadow Minister for Local Government and Planning			Labor
	Minister for Environment				Bastian Seidel MLC	Shadow Minister for Parks and Environment			Labor
Jacquie Petrusma MP	Minister for Parks			Liberal
	Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence				Michelle O'Byrne MP	Shadow Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence			Labor
Source: Premier of Tasmania – Cabinet Parliament of Tasmania – Shadow Ministry

Tasmanian government agencies[]

The Tasmanian Government delivers services, determines policy, and issues regulations through a number of agencies grouped under areas of portfolio responsibility. Each portfolio is led by a Secretary, who reports to one or more government ministers, a member of Parliament. As of April 2016 there are eight government departments:^[2]

• Department of Education
• Department of Health
• Department of Justice
• Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management
• Department of Premier and Cabinet
• Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment
• Department of State Growth
• Department of Treasury and Finance

A range of other agencies support the functions of these departments.

State-owned businesses[]

The Government of Tasmania also owns and operates a number of state-owned companies:^[3]

• Aurora Energy: electricity and gas retailer.
• Forestry Tasmania: the manager of public forests and plantations for logging, sawmilling and woodchipping.
• Hydro Tasmania: a large generator of electricity, management of hydroelectric schemes. Also owns a mainland Australian energy retailer, Momentum Energy.
• Tasmanian Irrigation: tasked with the planning, construction and maintenance of the Tasmanian Irrigation Schemes culminating pipes, dams and pumping stations.
• Metro Tasmania: a public transportation company, running busses in the metropolitan areas of the state.
• Motor Accidents Insurance Board (MAIB): public insurance resulting from car accidents.
• Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority: operates the tourism venture at Port Arthur, maintains the ruins of the gaol and historic site.
• Public Trustee: an independent trustee organisation.
• Tascorp: management of the other public companies' finances and government investment.
• Tasmanian Rail: freight transportation, railway management.
• TasNetworks: electricity transmission and distribution.
• TasPorts: port management and stevedoring.
• Tasracing: the operator of Tasmania's horse and dog racing venues, management of betting.
• TT-Line Company: operates the Bass Strait ferries.

Other levels of government[]

Federal representation of Tasmania[]

As a state of Australia, Tasmania is represented in the federal House of Representatives and Senate. Tasmania has five representative in the federal House of Representatives for the electoral divisions of Bass, Braddon, Denison, Franklin, and Lyons. Tasmania also has twelve Senators in line with other states.

Local government in Tasmania[]

29 local government elections are conducted under the Local Government Act using the Hare-Clark voting system of multi-member proportional representation. Elections for mayor, deputy mayor and half the councillor positions are held during September and October in each uneven numbered year. These include six cities (three in greater Hobart, one covering each of Launceston, Burnie, and Devonport) and twenty-three municipalities. The largest council (by number of eligible voters) is the City of Launceston and the smallest council is the Municipality of Flinders (which serves Flinders Island and the surrounds, with just over 800 electors)

See also[]

• List of Tasmanian government agencies
• Local government in Tasmania

References[]

External links[]

• Government of Tasmania website
• The Constitution of Tasmania in AustLII (link ineffective)
• Constitution Act 1934 (Tas) as enacted