Come next Tuesday, Tasmanian Labor will have a new leader.
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One of two men will assume the mantle: Franklin MHA David O'Byrne or Braddon MHA Shane Broad.
The counting of the ballots - submitted by rank-and-file party members and ALP state conference delegates - will follow a period of post-election soul-searching.
"I think it's been a real opportunity to reinvigorate the rank-and-file membership of the party," Mr O'Byrne said of the ballot.
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The party suffered a 4 per cent swing against it and won just 28 per cent of the primary vote at the 2021 state election. Opposition Leader Rebecca White subsequently resigned and endorsed Mr O'Byrne as her successor.
Internal Labor ructions were exposed in the early stages of the campaign, when the state branch's dominant Left faction moved to block Kingborough mayor Dean Winter from being preselected as a candidate in Franklin.
While the party's national executive intervened and installed Mr Winter as a candidate, the fault lines had already been laid bare.
There are calls from the Right for wholesale reform of the administrative wing of the party, which some believe is too tightly controlled by powerful left-wing unions such as the Health and Community Services Union and the United Workers Union.
Mr O'Byrne is a champion of the Left, whereas Dr Broad is unaligned.
Given the sheer influence Labor's left-wing has over the party, Mr O'Byrne, 52, is seen as a shoo-in to become the next leader.
Dr Broad, 46, acknowledges he's an outside chance to claim victory but says he doesn't regret putting his hand up.
Asked whether he believed he could win, he said it could only happen if there was a "membership revolt".
"If that does happen, that sends a message to the power-brokers that the Labor Party wants to change," Dr Broad said.
Tasmanian Labor needs to be "focusing on mainstream issues" and dedicating itself to winning back the support of voters who turned their backs on the party and swung to the Liberals, according to Dr Broad.
"There's a group of people whose parents probably voted Labor for generations that now, instead of working in a big workplace like Tioxide or the [Burnie] pulp mill, are subcontractors, they are tradies," he said. "They see themselves more as small business [operators]."
"It's pretty obvious to me that we need to change, that we need to go in a different direction.
"I don't think, by any means, I've got all the answers. But I think having the discussion has been valuable because the best way to change is to start."
Both Dr Broad and Mr O'Byrne have been attending branch meetings in far-flung corners of the state since the leadership ballot was confirmed last month and have also taken part in a Zoom forum, which allowed Labor members to put questions to the two candidates.
Mr O'Byrne said if he was to become leader, he would ensure that this level of engagement within the party continued.
I don't think, by any means, I've got all the answers. But I think having the discussion has been valuable because the best way to change is to start.
- Shane Broad, Braddon Labor MHA
"You've just got to build the infrastructure for that to occur," he said.
At the branch meetings he'd been to in recent weeks, Mr O'Byrne said people had raised numerous issues with him and provided "constructive feedback".
"As you would expect, people join a political party to achieve a better state and a better outcome for their community," he said. "And that really covers a whole range of issues around employment, around the environment, around health services, housing services."
"So the issues that are relevant to the community are the ones that are being raised in these forums by members because these are people who are motivated to achieve positive change."
Mr O'Byrne said he wasn't treating it as a foregone conclusion that he would be Tasmanian Labor's next parliamentary leader.
"I've received good support - as I'm sure Shane has, as well," he said.
"So I'm hopeful but I'm not taking anything for granted."
As for Dr Broad, he says he would be "more than willing" to take on a senior role in a David O'Byrne-led caucus.
"I'm not going to throw the toys out of the cot," he said.
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