Wilkie sides with Labor

INDEPENDENT MP Andrew Wilkie says he has decided to back a Labor minority government.

The MP for Denison in Tasmania made the announcement in Canberra on Thursday.

Mr Wilkie said his support only extended to supply and votes of no confidence, and would consider all policies on merit.

"A future Gillard government will have my vote on matters of supply, furthermore I will not support any unwarranted no confidence motion brought to bear against a future Labor government," he said.

"I will approach every policy on its merits."

Mr Wilkie said he had judged that Labor best met his criteria for the next government which must be stable, competent and ethical.

"There are many areas of the ALP's policy platform that I have concerns about ... for instance their refugee policy," he said.

"But I will take every opportunity during the term of the government to champion the issues I care about and concerned about, and try and bring about reform that way."

One of Mr Wilkie's priorities in negotiations was poker machine reform, in particular the introduction of uniform "pre-commitment" smart card technology.

Mr Wilkie said he had a commitment in writing from Prime Minister Julia Gillard that she would ask state governments to adjust their gaming laws to make the changes.

"If states did not agree, she would look for a legislative way to force them.

"This is unprecedented in this country," Mr Wilkie said.

Mr Wilkie said he would hope that his decision to go with Labor, which means the government now has 74 MPs on side, would send a signal to the other three independents to make their decisions soon.

He said he had expressed concerns about the public health care system in southern Tasmania and the state of the Royal Hobart Hospital in particular.

"But it would be reckless of me only to have been involved in a negotiation of money for that one hospital," he said.

"What the prime minister has committed to is to open a new round of monies for the health and hospital fund.

"In other words the $1.8 billion currently earmarked for the health and hospital fund is now available for applicants around Australia to apply for."

Mr Wilkie said of that $340 million would go to the Tasmanian government to refurbish Royal Hobart Hospital.

"The bigger issue here ...is that $1.8 billion that was not to be released at any time soon will now be released and applicants can now seek money for their own hospitals," he said.

Mr Wilkie predicted that "one or two, maybe three" of the remaining independents would get behind Labor but they hadn't told him so.

News of holes in the coalition's policy costings could also advance this, he said.

"It's now more likely that the ALP will get the numbers and perhaps even have a buffer to be able to provide stable government for the next three years," he said.

He said if Opposition Leader Tony Abbott did get the numbers to form a government he would not be obstructive and he would work with whoever was the next prime minister to insure stable and effective government.

"Mr Abbott made a number of commitments to me to get my support, some which were very generous," Mr Wilkie said.

For instance, Mr Abbott offered $1 billion to Tasmania to build a new hospital.

He said this was an "extraordinarily generous offer", three times the amount of money Tasmania would probably get through a new round of health and hospital funding.

"I think this is an example of where seeking a more modest amount but being more conscious of proper process, and more conscious of equity, so that hospitals around the country can benefit from $1.8 billion is a much more ethical way to go than simply just grabbing a $1 billion for Tasmania," he said.

Mr Wilkie said he would not support a no confidence motion moved by another member of the house, only those he had moved or seconded.

"Ultimately I will decide what is a satisfactory no confidence motion to support," he said.

"If someone is found to have acted illegally, or if someone is acting in a grossly unethical manner, for instance, the way (former prime minister) John Howard made the decision to invade Iraq."

Mr Wilkie said his threshold was "very, very high" and he was confident the next government, whether Labor or coalition, would see out a full term.

"I'm going to do my bit to foster stable government," he said.

Mr Wilkie said he had no idea what the other independents would decide, even though he had asked them directly.

"None of them have told me what their intentions are and I am confident it's because they genuinely are still to make up their minds," he said.

"I hope that they follow me. I want a Labor government. For all its weaknesses and faults, I think it would be the best government out of the two for the next three years."

Mr Wilkie said he believed strongly that the richest companies should pay more tax on their profits.

He said he was not at odds with the concept of a resource rent tax or a super profits tax.

But he said both were recklessly constructed.

"The current version has many faults. I am not comfortable with the way it was negotiated with only three miners, leaving thousands of other companies out of negotiations," he said.

"I would certainly be in favour of and support any move to look at the settings in that and to bring about improvements."

Mr Wilkie said the issue of compensation for states reliant on poker machine revenue still needed to be worked through.

"This is a reform on a grand scale and there is a lot of work now needed on the detail to make it work," he said.

"The aim is not to cause hardship, particularly for not-for-profit clubs for instance, who rely on pokies revenue to stay afloat.

"Because something like 40 per cent of poker machine revenue comes from problem gamblers, there will be an effect on clubs by reducing the amount of money lost on machines."

Mr Wilkie again pointed out that he did not agree with the asylum seeker policies of both sides of politics but that Labor's was less unethical than that of the coalition.

He said the coalition's plan to reintroduce temporary protection visas used by the Howard government was completely unacceptable, while also slamming the attitudes towards the issue within the party.

"And I also think there is an unacceptable culture within the coalition parties when it comes to asylum seeker policy."

But he said he would also do what he could to have Labor's asylum seeker policy, including offshore processing of refugees, overturned.

"I don't agree with the decision of offshore islands, I don't agree with offshore processing, I don't agree with lengthy mandatory detention."

"But I am less concerned with the Labor party policy in that regard."