Labor's Rebecca White moved motion after backbench defection

Labor Leader Rebecca White moved the motion of no confidence in the Premier during the first session of parliament since Liberal backbenchers John Tucker and Lara Alexander left the party to become independents.

Ms Alexander and Mr Tucker over the weekend struck a deal with the government to support it on matters of confidence and supply and other issues, and after Labor moved its motion yesterday morning, the pair sent out a statement confirming they would not support it.

The government, which normally uses its numbers on the House floor to avoid debates of this kind, instead voted for Labor's motion seeking leave to debate the no-confidence vote.

Ms White said she moved the motion against Mr Rockliff for a range of reasons, including the government's failure to cap power prices, the state's worsening school results and its prioritisation of the stadium project over more critical needs.

She also cited the government's recent string of "record" budget deficits, its "failure" to fix the housing crisis and its new status as an "weak, unstable, minority" government as reasons for the motion.

During the 10-hour debate that ensured, Mr Rockliff defended his government's record on the state's economy, its industrial relations policy and its support for jobs and businesses.

He said the government had steered the state through the COVID-19 pandemic and acted to protect jobs and businesses throughout the crisis.

The debate over the motion stretched throughout the day as each member was given 30 minutes to voice their views.

The votes were tallied just after midnight, with government members and the two new independents defeating the motion.

The length of the debate attracted criticism from independent member for Clark, Kristie Johnston, who said spending a whole day on it when the likely outcome was already known was a waste of parliament's time.

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