Tasmania Election 2021: Windermere candidates split on fairness of hosting two elections

Mr Dean said he was "flabbergasted" by Peter Gutwein's decision to call an early general election for May 1.

"I will be writing to the electoral commissioner in fact to be suggesting they should be postponing the legislative council election for later in the month," he said. "It hasn't got to be the first weekend of May, it can be another weekend. We're talking about democracy, we're talking about fairness."

Mr Dean, who has already announced he will not recontest his seat, said the decision to hold the state and legislative council elections on the same day would put independent candidates, including Will Smith, at a disadvantage compared to major party candidates.

"To me, it's just not fair, in fact it will be biased towards the Liberal candidate in the legislative council elections. They will benefit from this [decision] and in a democratic society [with] the democratic processes we have it is absolutely unfair in my view," he said.

ANALYSIS: Early election fraught with risk for Gutwein and Liberals

Meanwhile, Windermere independent candidate Will Smith, who has been backed my Mr Dean, said he would action to separate the two elections if it was permissible and the electoral commission was agreeable to it.

Mr Smith said the early election announcement surprised him and he felt it disadvantaged independent candidates who were standing for the upcoming race.

"The announcement was a surprise and I believe it will have an impact on the election because it confuses people," he said. "We really want to draw value to the fact it is important that the upper house remains a place of review ... voting for the lower house and the upper house on the same day causes [voters] confusion in regard to that messaging."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Similar concerns have also been raised by independent Member for Murchison Ruth Forrest, who said the double elections would provide a financial advantage to candidates from major parties.

"There appears to be no mechanism to attribute cost to the vicarious benefit gained through appearances with the Premier, Opposition leader or any other sitting member during the campaign period," she said.

"Additional promotion of, and publicity for, the party candidate is a clear benefit to their campaign and something not afforded to an independent candidate."

RELATED: Election countdown begins

However, Windermere Labor candidate Geoff Lyons said that due to the financial cap in place for legislative council elections, no candidates would be disadvantaged by the early election.

"It means the parties can now contribute in terms of party advertising so that probably changes things a bit but [it doesn't change] my strategy," he said.

"I don't anticipate that will make any difference in my electorate."

RELATED: Hickey calls majority governments dangerous and toxic

But Mr Dean felt the decision heavily swayed the election towards the major parties candidates.

"It will now be biased heavily towards the Liberal candidate in the legislative council election, they will benefit from this," he said.

"I would say it is designed around that as well, to give [the Liberal] candidate a boost in the legislative council and that's not what it is about, the legislative council is about independence."

Independent Windermere candidate Vivienne Gale said it was imperative the legislative council remained independent.

"Independence is critical to the Legislative Council's ability to effectively perform its tasks," she said.

"Allowing it to become party dominated whittles away this role and the result is party politics of either blocking or rubber-stamping of government bills."

Mr Smith said the cap was a good leveller between candidates, but the state election could distort that rule.

"It gives independent candidates the opportunity to go in with the same amount of spending, when you have both elections on the same day and during the same campaign period ... it is a disadvantage to independents, it just increases the [major] parties capabilities to spend unlimited funds as a core team and group," he said.

"Every candidate should be given the same opportunity whether you're independent or from a major party."

Mr Lyons said that the decision showed the state government was "worried" but it would not alter his strategy to door knock 8000 households.

"The Liberal government must be expecting some bad news because they want to get that election out of the way before the bad news hits," he said.

"I'll continue to knock on doors ... I am going to keep doing what I am doing, that's my strategy."

OPINION: Gutwein seeking mandate to push economic recovery

Windermere Liberal candidate Nick Duigan said the two elections would be beneficial to Tasmania.

"I know that the Premier wants to ensure Tasmania is not held back by minority government. The state election will give the people of Tasmania the chance to decide the future direction of our state," he said. "We have a proud democracy and I look forward to continue meeting and listening to voters in the lead up to election day."

Mr Smith said he still believed he was a strong chance to takeover from Mr Dean and keep Windermere independent.

"For me, my campaign remains unchanged, we're committed and we're passionate," he said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Follow us on Google News: The Examiner