What the Tasmanian Liberals will do:

Introduce fixed four year terms that would set a regular date of every House of Assembly election every four years, to remove the capacity for incumbent governments to choose a politically expedient election date, and to promote government stability and business confidence.

Fixed four-year terms are a feature of good governance throughout Australia. There are provisions for fixed four-year terms in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and the ACT. The new Liberal Premier of WA, Colin Barnett, has also recently flagged fixed terms of parliament for his State. While legislation that provides for fixed four-year terms varies in its provisions - the key difference being fixing the date for elections into the future or fixing the date for the first three years with elections to be called any time in the fourth year - most States have now opted for genuine fixed four-year terms.

It is Tasmanian Liberal policy that the date of every election for the Tasmanian House of Assembly occur on a set date every fourth year. The Liberals have presented a Bill to Parliament to this effect, although Labor used its numbers to defeat it, before eventually agreeing in 2008 to adopt the policy. Labor has not yet presented fixed term legislation to the Parliament.

The Liberal policy mirrors fixed-term legislation in other States.

Constitutional amendments are typically entrenched by one of the following methods: special majority, two-thirds majority support, or referendum. Entrenchment ensures that future governments cannot easily alter legislation for political expediency.

Special majority is a method of entrenchment that has been previously used in Tasmania, and is similarly used in this bill. Section 41A of the Constitution Act states that - ‘The Assembly may not pass any bill to amend section 23 unless not less than two-thirds of its Members vote for passing the Bill.’

Thus, the Liberal Bill entrenched section 23 so that any change to its provisions would require a two-thirds majority.

The entrenched provisions include the election date; dissolution of the House and the issuing of writs by the Governor prior to the election date; the power of the Governor to defer the election day to a Saturday not more than 21 days after the day because the date coincides with Easter or a Commonwealth election; and the prior dissolution of the House if a motion of no confidence in the Premier and other ministers is passed, or in the circumstances of the rejection of a money bill.

There are many advantages to fixed parliamentary terms. It is an easily understood concept that provides an environment for good government because it removes the capacity for incumbents to choose an election date for political purposes. It guarantees tenure of existing government for the implementation of policies. It provides certainty for parliamentary committees and allows for more effective planning of the parliamentary timetable. It facilitates better economic planning for the private and public sectors. It is generally supported by the business community and can reduce the number and cost of elections.