Braddon MHA Adam Brooks tendered his resignation following prolonged sick leave taken late in 2018 after an Integrity Commission report was released on his conduct when he was Resources Minister.

While serving in the portfolio, Mr Brooks continued to access the email account of his company Maintenance Systems Solutions.

He had denied doing so before a budget estimates committee but later corrected the record.

The Integrity Commission report found he did not tell Premier Will Hodgman or the state's Crown Solicitor, who was in charge of an audit of the email account, that he had double-deleted a number of emails.

The government's most senior member Rene Hidding was next to go after the publication of alleged historical sexual abuse claims leveled against him by a disgruntled relative which he strenuously denied.

The claims, which Tasmania Police later decided not to pursue after an investigation, brought an end to his 23-year parliamentary career and triggered a recount in the seat of Lyons.

The government in a rare move delayed the start of Parliament for the year in order for John Tucker to take his seat and give the Liberals a crucial vote in the chamber.

Nation-leading legislation to allow parents the choice of whether gender markers were included on birth certificates was passed in the upper house early in the year.

Labor and the Greens had taken government legislation to facilitate same-sex marriage in Tasmania and made amendments to enable changes to birth certificates.

The legislation also removed a requirement for expensive and intrusive surgery to be undertaken before somebody changed their gender identity.

Windermere independent MLC Ivan Dean was a fierce opponent to the legislation during lengthy debates in the Legislative Council but the laws were eventually passed.

The retirement of Legislative Council president Jim Wilkinson during the upper house's May elections made way for the election of anti-pokies independent Meg Webb for the seat of Nelson.

The election for the seat was fiercely contested among the 10 candidates, including newly minted independent Madeleine Ogilvie, former Wilderness Society head Vica Bayley and former Liberal MHA Nic Street.

Mr Street led the race for much of the count though Ms Webb eventually won, benefiting from Mr Bayley's preference votes once he was eliminated from the race.

Montgomery and Pembroke incumbents, the Liberal's Leonie Hiscutt and Labor's Jo Siejka, retained their seats.

Mr Wilkinson's retirement left the position of president open, with Labor Derwent MLC Craig Farrell securing the role after a secret ballot.

The handing down of the state budget in May saw the revelation $450 million in savings would have to be made across state agencies as Tasmania heads into almost a billion dollars of net debt in order to fund major infrastructure projects.

A shock cabinet reshuffle in June saw embattled Minister Michael Ferguson lose both the health and police portfolios.

Sparked by the resignation of Jacquie Petrusma from cabinet for health reasons, the reshuffle saw Sarah Courtney take on the health challenge.

Mr Ferguson said it had always been the plan for him to relinquish the health portfolio in favour of leading the state's infrastructure investments.

Ms Hickey kept the government on their toes by threatening to leave the Liberal party and plunging the government into a minority after being snubbed for a Cabinet position for a second time.

After keeping the government hanging on for a week and securing funds for a 50-bed drug and rehabilitation in the state's south, Ms Hickey decided to remain the party, securing the Hodgman majority in name.

Ms Hickey said Mr Hodgman's willingness to address priority issues was the reason she chose to remain in the party.

She did continue to live up to her 'rogue speaker' title, voting against the government on key legislation including optional gender on birth certificates and mandatory minimum sentencing.

The resignation of Labor finance spokesman and Clark MHA Scott Bacon saw Labor lose one of the party's most senior and experienced members.

This also saw Labor lose a seat in the lower house when his replacement, former Labor MHA Madeleine Ogilvie, decided not to rejoin the party to instead sit as an independent, the first in the house since 1996.

Ms Ogilvie's independence, however, was questioned when she decided to back the government on legislation she had previously voted against - mandatory minimum sentences for child sex offenders and so-called anti-protest legislation.

The anti-protest legislation was the subject of lengthy and heated debate with the Parliament sitting until 2am on the second last sitting day to allow members to speak on the bill.

On the final day of Parliament, the debate was set to again continue into the night before being gagged by the government and passing the house with the support of Ms Ogilvie.

As the year drew to a close, there was no end in sight for the ongoing wages dispute between the government and public sector unions.

Only the Australian Education Union had agreed to a wages deal. The year saw escalating industrial action disrupt the state's prison, public transport and schools, with two schools in the state's North-West forced to close in July as the result of cleaner work bans.

The dispute was referred by the government to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission in June after the government cancelled a 117^th meeting with unions.

Negotiations saw a breakthrough in July, with the government scrapping its 2 per cent wage cap to offer an in-principal one year deal which saw a 2.1 per cent increase from the date the previous agreement expired and a 0.25 per cent bonus when the deal was signed.

In November, the AEU struck a deal with the government which will see teachers receive a salary increase of 4.2 per cent over three years, including 2.35 per cent in back-pay.

Further disruptions are expected as part of the dispute, with prison officers escalating industrial action as recently as December 16.

Parliament's committee rooms were kept busy once again over the year through a number of inquiries.

An inquiry into the numbers in the House of Assembly numbers heard evidence which overwhelming suggested that a decision in 1998 to remove 10 members from the chamber had negatively impacted parliamentary work and constituency representation.

This was supported by a number of former high-profile politicians, including former Liberal premier Robin Gray and Labor stalwart Michael Polley, and a range of political commentators.

The government, however, was cool on the view that the house should be restored and cited the associated costs as a detracting factor.

A final report from the inquiry is due out next year.

An inquiry on the state's gun laws made 15 recommendations for government action but did not support any major changes to regulations.

It recommended a review of laws and penalties regarding theft and use of stolen firearms and better resourcing of Tasmania Police's Firearm Services division.

The government continued to be pressured on actions to do with housing affordability in the state which culminated in the establishment of an inquiry into the matter.

Many individuals and groups who presented evidence said that the government's Affordable Housing Action Plan was not delivering enough affordable social and public housing properties.

It was also suggested that short-stay accommodation properties had placed more pressure of the state's tight rental market which had pushed up asking prices, particularly in Hobart.

Short-stay accommodation platforms Airbnb and Stayz disputed the claims.

A Legislative Council committee inquiry on fin fish farming in Tasmania is set to begin hearings next year.

The committee has so far received more than 200 submissions on the matter and more than 2000 emails.