Tasmania's premier says an election announcement is imminent and warns a hung parliament will be a 'recession' for the state.
Tasmanians are expected to go to the polls in March, but Premier Will Hodgman won't be drawn on when he plans to call the election, only saying it will happen 'very soon'.
Asked whether he would rather work with the Jacqui Lambie Network or the Greens under a minority government scenario, Mr Hodgman said that was 'a bit like Sophie's Choice'.
"l will spend all my time trying to stop such a thing happening," he told reporters.
"It's going to be a very fiercely contested election because there's a lot riding on it."
Mr Hodgman and Minister for Corrections Elise Archer on Sunday announced a $340 million package to build new prison facilities, including a 270-bed prison in the state's north and a remand centre for up to 70 inmates at the site of the existing Risdon complex in the south.
The facilities will keep the community safe and boost the economy, with the creation of more than 4000 jobs, Mr Hodgman said.
An internal Liberal Party MediaReach poll of 3000 Tasmanians conducted last week shows the Liberals had 41.1 per cent of the primary vote, Labor had 34.3 per cent and the Greens 12.8 per cent, the Hobart Mercury has reported.
Opposition Leader Rebecca White was also out on Sunday as she pledged a $106m housing affordability package at the launch of the Denison and Franklin candidates.
"Our priority is to put a roof over the vulnerable people of the Tasmanian community rather than housing more prisoners," she told reporters.
Labor's package, targeted at those aged over 55, 18 to 25, at-risk youths, people escaping domestic violence and those struggling to get into the market, would include 900 builds, with 433 to begin construction in the first two years.
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