Labor's candidates for the Legislative Council seats of Huon and Rosevears have welcomed the announcement of a new date for the elections after they were deferred because of COVID-19.
Candidates Bastian Seidel and Jess Greene said they are committed to representing the people of Huon and Rosevears.
"The deferral of the elections, originally scheduled for 18 March, was the right decision," said Dr Seidel, the candidate for Huon.
"Jess and I had already suspended face-to-face campaigning amidst the pandemic and we were relieved to see common sense prevail when the government took up our call to defer the elections.
"We didn't want to go down the path of Queensland where hundreds of people had to queue to get into polling places for local government elections in the midst of the pandemic.
"It was always clear that asking people to turn out for elections was incompatible with social distancing requirements and advice for people to stay home. Democracy is important but no-one should have to put their health or the health of others at risk in order to vote.
Ms Greene, the candidate for Rosevears, said with Tasmania now coming out of the crisis, it is pleasing to see a new date announced for the elections.
"It is great to have clarity around the date so we can get on with the business of representing the people of our regions.
"It is heartening to see the vast improvement in Tasmania's COVID-19 situation and both Bastian and I will now return to campaigning.
"We are excited to get back to business and look forward to representing the people of Rosevears and Huon."
Bastian Seidel
Labor Candidate for Huon
Jess Greene
Labor Candidate for Rosevears
