Incumbent MLC
Jo Palmer (Liberal), since 2020.
Geography
Northern Tasmania. Rosevears covers the northeastern corner of Launceston, stretching along the eastern shore of the Tamar River to the north coast of Tasmania. Rosevears covers the entirety of the West Tamar council area, and a small part of the city of Launceston.
History
The seat of Rosevears has existed since the 1999 redistribution, when it replaced the seat of Cornwall.
Cornwall was won by Ray Bailey in 1990, and he was re-elected in 1996. When the redistribution was implemented, Bailey became the Member for Rosevears, but retired when Rosevears first came up for election in 2002.
Rosevears was won in 2002 by Kerry Finch, who was re-elected in 2008 and 2014. Finch generally voted with the left wing of the Council, and retired in 2020.
The 2020 contest was extremely close, with Liberal candidate Jo Palmer defeating left-leaning independent Janie Finlay by just 260 votes. Finlay was elected to the House of Assembly as a Labor candidate in 2021, and re-elected in 2024 and 2025.
- Charlene McLennan (Greens)
- Ben Mckinnon (Labor)
Assessment
Jo Palmer very narrowly won Rosevears in 2020, defeating an independent who was later elected as a Labor MP. The Liberal Party is in a weaker position in 2026 – Palmer’s personal vote as an incumbent may help her, but she will undoubtedly face a fierce challenge from candidates on the left.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| Jo Palmer | Liberal | 9,492 | 41.5 |
| Janie Finlay | Independent | 6,915 | 30.2 |
| Jess Greene | Labor | 2,076 | 9.1 |
| David Fry | Independent | 1,907 | 8.3 |
| Jack Davenport | Greens | 1,713 | 7.5 |
| Vivienne Gale | Independent | 761 | 3.3 |
| Informal | 462 | 2.0 |
2020 two-candidate-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| Jo Palmer | Liberal | 11,492 | 50.6 |
| Janie Finlay | Independent | 11,232 | 49.4 |
Booths in Rosevears have been divided into three parts: north, south and central. “South” covers the dense cluster of booths in the Launceston urban area.
Palmer topped the primary vote in all four areas, ranging from 39.1% in the north to 43.6% in the centre.
| Voter group | LIB | Finlay | Total votes | % of votes |
| South | 40.1 | 29.5 | 5,814 | 25.4 |
| Central | 43.6 | 29.2 | 2,481 | 10.9 |
| North | 39.1 | 36.5 | 1,188 | 5.2 |
| Other votes | 42.4 | 29.6 | 10,684 | 46.7 |
| Pre-poll | 40.2 | 32.5 | 2,697 | 11.8 |
Election results in Rosevears at the 2020 Legislative Council election
Toggle between primary votes for the Liberal Party, independent candidate Janie Finlay and Labor.