Liberals swept to power in Tasmania, Labor hopeful of clinging to power in South Australia

Updated

Labor has been swept from power in Tasmania but is clinging to life in South Australia after both states went to the polls on Saturday.

Voters called time on 16 years of Labor rule in Tasmania, flocking to the Liberals, whose leader, Will Hodgman, had positioned his party as the only option for a stable majority government.

The Liberals will get that, with at least 14 seats in the 25-seat legislature, which is decided using the complex Hare-Clark proportional representation system.

Premier-elect Mr Hodgman said Tasmanians had voted for change "and that's what they will get".

In South Australia, what had been expected to be a comfortable Liberal victory failed to materialise, with Jay Weatherill's Labor putting up a fight in the Adelaide marginals which have delivered it power for the past three terms.

The South Australian Electoral Commissioner says with the high volume of early and postal votes, up to a quarter of the overall vote is yet to be counted.

The ABC's election computer is predicting 23 seats for Labor, 21 for the Liberals and two for independents.

Both major parties say the seat of Mitchell is too close to call.

Mr Weatherill said he was "hopeful of retaining government".

Tasmania: Labor swept away as voters turn to Libs

In Tasmania, Labor is on course to hold on to just six seats, including that of outgoing premier Lara Giddings, after suffering a near-10 per cent swing against it.

In his victory speech, Mr Hodgman wished Ms Giddings and Greens leader Nick McKim well and said his job was to deliver "a brighter future and a strong, stable majority government".

"Tasmanians have voted for change," he said.

"We will be a government that seeks to improve the lives of all Tasmanians ... we will change things for the better.

"Make no mistake, tonight Tasmanians have voted for a change of direction and we will be a government that brings that change. We will be decisive and we will not adopt a business-as-usual approach."

After campaigning on a platform that included tearing up the state's forests peace deal, he said: "We intend to deliver on all those things that we have committed to, no matter how challenging, and no matter how confronting they are."

"That includes in our forest industry, unlocking the potential of this great state and supporting those regional towns in Tasmania who have voted resoundingly tonight for a change," he said.

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Lara Giddings concedes defeat (ABC News)

After eight years as Opposition Leader, Mr Hodgman joked that he was delighted to "bring to an end the longest reign of an Opposition Leader in world history, apparently, and thank heavens for that."

Earlier, Ms Giddings told the Labor faithful gathered to hear her concession speech at the Hobart Hockey Centre: "We do have to accept that after 16 years Tasmanians today have voted for change."

"I am proud of our 16 years of government in Tasmania," she said.

"We will leave this office with this state in far better shape than when we inherited it in 1998. Tasmania is more inclusive, Tasmania is more progressive, more dynamic and more culturally confident than we were back in 1998, and we have a fantastic future.

"We can and we will be the most dynamic small economy in the world. We have the best experiences here, the most beautiful natural beauty ... we have great people, and we live in the best place in the world.

"This period of government, we can all stand high and proud about," she said. "Not only did we provide stability for four years, but we're reformed ... we've reformed energy, we've reformed forestry ... and I would say to Will Hodgman, do not tear up the forest agreement."

The Greens, who spent the past four years in a power-sharing deal with Labor but were unceremoniously booted out of cabinet by the Premier on the day she named the election date, suffered an eight-point swing against them.

Mr McKim urged the new Liberal government to "protect and promote what makes us special, to govern fairly for all Tasmanians and to provide jobs and prosperity without destroying those natural advantages that those jobs rely on."

"Even though we face a wall of conservative governments around the country, our time will come again ... the Greens will be back bigger and better than ever," he said.

Despite a big-spending campaign, and some big talk from its flamboyant leader Clive Palmer, the Palmer United Party is unlikely to win a seat.

SA: Weatherill could be Australia's only surviving Labor premier

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Jay Weatherill hopeful of keeping power (ABC News)

With no clear-cut result in South Australia, Mr Weatherill addressed supporters at the West Adelaide Football Club, telling them the election was "clearly too early to call" but that "we're hopeful of retaining government here in South Australia."

But he added that the government may hinge on the votes of the two independents, and said he would be having talks with them in the coming days.

"Obviously I will be back to speak to you on another occasion, hopefully, to conclude what has been the unfinished business of tonight," he said.

"I hope that we will be saying that we are governing once again in South Australia, in the majority, but perhaps with the support of the independents."

If Labor does hold South Australia it will make Mr Weatherill Australia's lone surviving Labor premier. The only other Labor-run legislature is in the ACT, with its Chief Minister Katy Gallagher.

The ABC election computer showed a 3 per cent swing to the Liberals, and the party is expected to have the advantage in the counting of about 170,000 pre-poll and postal votes.

"We are still in the hunt to form government, there is no doubt about it," Liberal leader Steven Marshall said shortly before Mr Weatherill spoke.

"We're not in a position to claim victory tonight, despite our outstanding result, increasing our vote and increasing our two-party preferred vote, but we will do what we can over the coming days," he added.

While the Greens were heavily punished in what was once their island stronghold, in South Australia the minor party saw a small swing in its favour, but without winning any seats.

Topics: elections, state-parliament, government-and-politics, sa, tas, australia

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