The Tasmanian government minister who quit the Liberal party on Friday over allegations of bullying and leaks of damaging private messages said she is reconsidering leaving state parliament and may sit as an independent, which could trigger an early election.
Former Attorney-General Elise Archer announced on Friday she would resign from the Liberal Party and the parliament, but she has left the party she has not tendered her resignation to Tasmania's governor.
She left the government and the Liberal Party after Premier Jeremy Rockliff sacked her, alleging bullying by a former staff member and leaked private messages, which he said was 'unacceptable by any standard'.
She said she completely rejected the bullying allegation, accused the Prime Minister of not affording her due process, and has defended the leaked message as having been taken out of context.
Archer said on Sunday that she was reconsidering her decision to resign from parliament.
Archer said she would take her time to make a decision, but if she remained in parliament she would sit as an independent and she would not guarantee supply and confidence to the government.
If Archer remains in parliament as an independent, the minority Liberal government would be at risk of losing votes on the floor of parliament, even with the support of former Liberal backbenchers who defected to the crossbench earlier this year.
This would be a 'election territory' for the government, said Tasmanian electoral analyst Kevin Bonham.