Richard Herr
Richard Herr PhD OAM teaches Parliament Law and Procedure at the University of Tasmania. For more than four decades, he has provided election night commentary.
Richard's recent articles
Tasmanias new electoral quota: transitional or transformative?
When Tasmanians go to the polls on March 23rd 2024, the ballot paper will have a new look to many voters. Yet, others will experience a back-to-the future feel by the return to a ballot so familiar a quarter century earlier. The ballot will reflect the changes needed to fill ten newly created seats in the House of Assembly. Consequently, voters will have to list at least seven candidates at this years poll up from numbering five for the 2021 state election to record a valid vote.
The Tasmanian State Election in the rear view mirror
The Tasmanian election is over but it is far from over. The key questions of who will form Government and will it command a majority in Parliament have been settled. Liberal Premier Peter Gutwein has won and he will have a majority. Yet, a more fundamental question will hang in the air for some time perhaps even until the next election. Was it worth it?
The Tasmanian 2021 Election: Down the Final Stretch
Entering the final week of campaigning, the absence of regular and focused polling makes predicting the likely outcome almost as opaque today as when the snap poll was called a month ago. However, this uncertainty might not be resolved by better opinion polling over the course of the campaign. This can be illustrated by the last available EMRS poll, the one that contributed definitively to the Liberal Governments decision to call this election a year early. As I covered in a previous article, this EMRS state-wide poll dramatically revealed the effect of the Covid crisis on Tasmanian public opinion....
2021 Tasmanian State Election Overview
Less than a fortnight into the campaign, the 2021 Tasmanian state election already has voters astonished and bewildered with party infighting, candidate ticket instability, policy backflips amongst other features undermining public trust on full display. Of which are compounded by the blatant political opportunism in the timing of the election date which the Government has made no effort to deny.