During private members' business in the House of Assembly on Wednesday evening, the Greens moved a motion calling on the government to investigate how a jobs guarantee might be implemented in Tasmania during the COVID-19 recovery phase.

Labor's nine MHAs voted with the Greens' two, as did independent Clark MHA Madeleine Ogilvie, while the 12 Liberals voted against it.

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This left Speaker Sue Hickey to utilise her casting vote. She supported the motion.

While it didn't result in a key piece of government legislation being torpedoed, the minor defeat is bound to unsettle some Liberals who would be loath to return to the days of unpredictability in the lower house during premier Will Hodgman's second term.

However, political analyst Kevin Bonham wrote on Twitter that the vote wasn't "a stability issue".

"The government won't collapse over it," he said. "It lost many votes earlier in the term."

The Liberal member for Clark Ms Hickey's shock speakership coup on the first day of Parliament in 2018 set a tone for the next two years of Mr Hodgman's leadership. The rogue Speaker went on to vote against government bills multiple times.

But since former Labor MHA Ms Ogilvie was elected as an independent on a countback last year, Ms Hickey's influence has been curbed.

Greens leader Cassy O'Connor celebrated the step towards a jobs guarantee via her Facebook page last night.

"A reliable, liveable income is essential to meet basic needs like food, housing, healthcare, transport, bills, and education," she wrote. "Work opportunities benefit individuals, society and the economy as a whole."

"The economic shockwaves from COVID-19 will continue for years and it is critical government does everything within its power to ensure everyone possible has a job."

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