The Tasmanian Government or the Government of Tasmania is the executive branch of the Australian state of Tasmania. 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 the executive. The governor appoints the premier of Tasmania.
Since 8 April 2022, the premier of Tasmania has been Jeremy Rockliff, leader of the Liberal Party. The current ministry of Tasmania is the Second Rockliff ministry.
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, and the two chambers: the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly.[2]
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.
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. Since reorganisation in 2022[3] the departmental structure is the following
A range of other agencies support the functions of these departments.
The Government of Tasmania also owns and operates a number of state-owned companies:[4]
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.
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 Flinders Council (which serves Flinders Island and the surrounds, with just over 800 electors)
