Tasmania will head to the polls for an early election after its Liberal government was plunged into minority.
Premier Peter Gutwein has announced the election, which was not due until May 2022, will be held on May 1.
“I did this because Tasmania can’t afford the uncertainly of minority government,” he said on Friday.
“This election will be about who can deliver a strong, stable government to secure Tasmania’s future.”
The Liberal government entered minority earlier this week after Speaker Sue Hickey quit the party.
Ms Hickey was told last weekend she would not be re-endorsed by the Liberals for the next election and is now operating as an independent.
Ms Hickey sensationally claimed the speakership three years ago by voting with opposition parties and has crossed the floor on contentious issues.
She this week used parliamentary privilege to accuse federal Liberal Senator Eric Abetz of “slut-shaming” Brittany Higgins, who alleges she was raped in Parliament House in Canberra.
Senator Abetz denies the claims.
The Liberals have 12 MPs in Tasmania’s 25-seat lower house, with Labor (nine) the Greens (two) and independents (two) making up the remainder.
Mr Gutwein and the Liberals are riding a wave of support on the back of the government’s coronavirus response, which included a decision to shut the island’s borders early.
According to an EMRS survey of 1000 people published in February, 61 per cent of voters rate Mr Gutwein as the preferred premier. Labor leader Rebecca White was on 26 per cent.
The Liberals are the preferred party (52 per cent) ahead of Labor (27 per cent).
Mr Gutwein took over as premier early last year after Will Hodgman’s shock decision to step down as leader mid-term.
The Liberal government was returned for a second term in 2018, winning 13 of 25 seats.
It was the first time in 22 years a Liberal government had won a second consecutive term.