Member for Franklin and former Kingborough Mayor Dean Winter was elected unopposed as the leader of the Tasmanian Labor Party on Wednesday, April 10.
“I am honoured to have been endorsed by my colleagues to lead the Labor Party in Tasmania, with Anita Dow as my deputy,” Mr Winter said.
“As a longstanding member of the Kingborough community, I am proud to represent our region in state Parliament and taking on the role of Labor leader is a huge honour.
“I am excited about Tasmania’s future and the opportunities before us and I am looking forward to the role Labor will play in the next Parliament, holding the government to account and putting forward an alternative vision for Tasmanians.
“Under my leadership, the Labor Party stands first and foremost for creating and maintaining good, well-paid, safe and secure jobs to help Tasmanian families and the economy.
“By focusing on jobs, the Labor Party will support Tasmanian industry and small business, we will support families to help them manage the cost of living and we will support the workers who keep our essential public services going.
“We understand that much work also needs to be done to find solutions to the health crisis and the housing crisis and Labor will be doing all we can to provide Tasmanians with the services they need.
“As we move forward, I’ll be travelling all around Tasmania, meeting Tasmanians, listening to Tasmanians and working with Tasmanians to get the best results for everyone.
“I am grateful to my colleagues for trusting me with this opportunity, and I look forward to continue working with them towards our vision for a better Tasmania.”
Mr Winter was elected to Kingborough Council in 2014 and won the Kingborough mayoral election in 2018 with 61.93 per cent of the vote.
He was one of six Labor candidates preselected for the seat of Franklin in 2021, only two of whom were elected.
The 2024 state election results were finalised on Wednesday, April 10 with Meg Brown joining Dean Winter from the Tasmanian Labor Party.
Labor received 25 per cent of total formal votes in the Franklin electorate.
The Liberal Party received 36.23 per cent of total formal votes, winning three seats for Eric Abetz, Nic Street and Jacquie Petrusma.
Tasmanian Greens gained 22.08 per cent of total formal votes, with Rosalie Woodruff elected.
David O’Byrne successfully ran as an independent in the 2024 election after quitting the Labor party and won a seat with 12.5 per cent of votes.
The Kingborough Chronicle reached out to the elected Franklin members for comment.
“I hope the next Parliament delivers better policy outcomes, particularly across the healthcare, education and social housing sector,” Mr O’Byrne said.
“My goal is to achieve practical and tangible outcomes on the key policy issues I am passionate about.”
Member for Franklin and Minister for Sport and Events Nic Street said “I want to ensure that the people of Franklin have every opportunity to be active now and well into the future”.
Premier Rockliff announced a new Cabinet line-up on Thursday, April 11 with the Finance portfolio being added to Minister Street’s responsibilities.
“Our government will continue to work on addressing our health, housing and cost-of-living challenges, but in Franklin, we can truly have it all and I am excited to see how our beautiful part of the world continues to thrive over this next term of government,” Mr Street said.
Jacquie Petrusma said she is looking forward to representing the people of Kingborough and the voters of Franklin.
“Especially championing health and well-being, small businesses, not-for-profits and our most vulnerable Tasmanians,” Ms Petrusma said.
Ms Petrusma has been appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier.
“I went to school, opened my law firm and raised my family in Kingborough,” Senator Eric Abetz said.
“It is my greatest privilege and honour to again have the trust of the people of Franklin to represent our beautiful community.”
Senator Eric Abetz has been appointed Leader of the House and will take on the Business, Industry and Resources and Transport portfolios.
