The resignation of Tasmania's Education Minister has reignited calls for a larger parliament, but a former MP says adding more politicians would not guarantee a greater talent pool.
Sarah Courtney resigned on Thursday after returning home from a widely criticised European holiday, during which she caught coronavirus, became stuck in France and missed the start of term one.
She knocked back criticism of her vacation — taken while teachers, Education Department staff and families prepared to return to school — and said she was quitting to spend more time with loved ones.
It is not yet clear who in the government will take on her portfolios, which also included tourism and hospitality, skills training and workforce growth, disability services, and children and youth.
Gutwein faces difficulty finding 'talented enough backbencher': Greens
Ms Courtney said she was confident she would be ably replaced, but Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said Premier Peter Gutwein faced a "really difficult decision" to find a "talented enough backbencher" to take on Ms Courtney's job.
"He's going to be very restricted in his choices for ministers going forward, so we would ask him to have another look at our legislation to restore the numbers [of politicians] and see sense," Ms O'Connor said.
"Most Tasmanians now realise that the House of Assembly is far too small and that when a situation like this happens it really highlights the need for a deeper talent pool, better representation and stronger governance."
In 2020, a cross-party parliamentary committee released a report recommending the state's Lower House increase to 35 seats.
The numbers in the Lower House dropped by 10 in 1998 to the current 25.
The Greens have tabled a House of Assembly Restoration Bill, which would restore the House of Assembly to 35 seats and allow for an extra minister in cabinet, but it has not yet been debated.
Mr Gutwein has said it is not the right time to increase the size of parliament, a sentiment echoed by Labor leader Rebecca White on Thursday.
"We understand that increasing the size of parliament is of interest to some people, but it's not our priority right now," she said.
"We need to be supporting our community and our economy to recover from the impacts of COVID, and that's where we're dedicating our time."
Tasmania 'over-governed' already
Former Liberal leader Bob Cheek crossed the floor in 1998 in support of reducing the size of the House of Assembly.
Speaking on Thursday, he labelled Tasmania "the most over-governed state in Australia and one of the most over-governed in the western world", pointing to its 25 Lower House MPs, 15 Upper House MPs, 29 councils and 12 senators.
"It's just an ego trip more than anything to have more politicians in there. They're just not needed."
He was elected in 1996, when there were 35 MPs in the House of Assembly, and said it was not necessary.
"You could increase to 50 and it doesn't mean you'll get better people," he said.
"When I first got elected there were 35 in there and people were crawling over themselves not having anything to do. They were running around causing mischief."
Sue Hickey, another outspoken former Liberal MP, disagreed, saying Tasmanian ministers were overworked and that the job was a "tough ask".
"The fact is the parliament is too small, there are not enough ministers of calibre and the workload is extraordinary," she said.
