It certainly was an interesting result. The Greens had an obligation to their voters to form a government with one of the two majors. The GG did the right thing in maintaining the status quo and in recognising the fact most people voted for a Left of Centre outcome.

The Greens may have to compromise in some areas but hopefully they won't do a Garrett and compromise on essentials. They may just help keep the bastards honest and put the emphasis back on social reform, which will be a big improvement on the status quo.

The Electoral system is Tasmania is a flea ridden Dog...No other way to describe it.
With only 5 Electorates, they are far too big. One stretches from Hobart in the south right up to Bass Strait... What do People in Brighton, near Hobart, have in common with Farmers in Sheffield...? Nothing actually!
In fact that Electorate looks like a Dumb Bell...... Those interested in Political History will know what that means.

"..the Greens locally are not as shrill or dogmatic and manipulative as Tasmania’s Federal Green senators, Bob Brown and Christine Milne. Brown and Milne helped to destroy the previous Tasmanian experiment in Labor-Green power sharing of two decades ago."

That is a fair assessment and I agree and the problem from now on is how to keep the federal Green senators from interfering to make party politics the issue rather than the effective, enlightened government of Tasmania for the benefit of citizens, regardless of political preference. There are similarities with the Brisbane City Council which for years was able to get a lot done through cooperation of elected members concentrating on matters of importance without regard to their party membership. It is only in recent years that party politics has wasted council time and frustrated ratepayers.

What the federal Green senators need to realise is that voters become very irritated very quickly with politicians who find that playing politics is preferable to making an earnest, positive contribution to the parliament. Tasmania has too few elected representatives for any of them to have the luxury of goofing off or sitting back 'keeping the bastards honest'.

If Tasmania was a seperate and sovereign country that had to use it's own output and taxes to run itself - would the voters have behaved this way? (not for long!)

Is it because they know regardless of what they do, the commonwealth will prop them up?

So they can go back to play eco activists versus developers or whatever stupid games they play, and it means nothing. They can all squabble at someone else's expense - what fun!

There are no repercussions, well, except for taxpayers on the mainland.

It's all make believe, irresponsibility and pretend, kindergarten games and petty hatreds dressed up as society.

The Current greens leader is as radical as those that came before him, such as his idol, Bob Brown. McKim said of Brown and his own illegal protests in the forests:

"Shortly after the Franklin, I was involved in the blockade at Farmhouse Creek and was arrested while protecting our magnificent forests from clear-felling. It is a personal disappointment to me that this issue is unresolved 20 years after I sat in front of the bulldozers. It was at Farmhouse Creek that I first met a man who had a profound effect not only on my life but on Tasmania's history. I refer of course to Bob Brown, now Senator Bob Brown, a man of honesty and integrity who is not only a role model to me but is one of the world's foremost environmentalists and human rights advocates."

Whilst McKim went into the slick field of advertising before entering Parliament and knows how to present an image on TV, his maiden speech paints a picture of a radical committed to the aims of Brown and Milne version of the old style greens, check it at http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/ha/ISMcKimNick.htm

Only in the bizarre world of Greg Barns would the ALP be considered centre.
Still, I remember Bob Brown calling John Howard an extremist because he didn't endorse same-sex "marriage".
I guess it's all relative to the commentator's own stance.