Tasmania's caretaker premier David Bartlett has made good on his promise to advise the state's governor to resign his commission as premier and offer Liberal leader Will Hodgman the opportunity to take power.
The make-up of the next Tasmanian parliament will be a 10-10-5 split of Liberal, Labor and the Greens, respectively.
Labor lost its majority, suffering a 12 per cent swing, at the March 20 election.
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Following constitutional procedure
Mr Bartlett promised that in the event of a tie in the number of seats in a hung parliament that the party with the greatest overall vote should first be given the chance to form a minority government.
Mr Bartlett spoke to the media after a brief meeting with Governor Peter Underwood at Hobart's Government House at 2pm (AEST).
"Today, as is constitutionally correct, I have tendered advice to his excellency on the formation of a new Tasmanian government," Mr Bartlett told reporters.
"I anticipate that his Excellency may wish to release that advice in full in the future but that is at his discretion.
Underwood still to accept
"But I can inform to you that that advice contains within it the commitments, followed in full, to the letter, that I made to the Tasmanian people in recent times."
It remains to be seen if Mr Underwood accepts Mr Bartlett's suggestion to commission Mr Hodgman as premier without any sort of negotiated agreement between him and the Greens.
As the incumbent, Mr Underwood may have asked Mr Bartlett to first test his support on floor of the next parliament, due to be recalled within weeks.
