Former Tasmanian attorney-general Elise Archer has resigned from parliament just hours after Premier Jeremy Rockliff raised the prospect of an early election if she remained in the House of Assembly.
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Ms Archer in a statement said she would tender her resignation to the Governor Barbara Baker on Wednesday after 13 years in parliament.
She said she would do so with a heavy heart.
"However, this is the right decision for me personally, knowing the types of threats and tactics adopted by this government recently are likely to continue," Ms Archer said.
"If they ceased or I felt less pressured to decide today, the outcome may have been different."
Premier Jeremy Rockliff on Wednesday morning sent Ms Archer a letter to demand she either resign or make a decision on whether to provide a written guarantee of confidence and supply from the crossbench by October 9 or he would call an election.
Ms Archer described the letter as "threatening".
"I always intended to make my decision about whether to resign from parliament as quickly as possible in the interests of Tasmanians, but intense media interest and now this threatening behaviour from the Premier, and his office over a longer period, have unduly pressured my decision," she said.
"Given the events of recent days, it is clear the Premier is not willing to work constructively with me in parliament.
"He is big on tough talk in the media, but has not contacted me personally for my support.
"This is entirely consistent with his leadership style and has also contributed to the loss of other members."
Ms Archer said the government continued to sit in parliament in minority and believed an election before 2025 was inevitable.
Mr Rockliff asked Ms Archer last week to tender her resignation from cabinet after he was made aware of a derogatory message she wrote to staff in her office about victim-survivors of child sexual abuse.
Mr Rockliff said he had been made aware of bullying allegations against her by former staff in her office.
Following her resignation as a minister, Ms Archer resigned from the Liberal party and said she intended to resign from parliament.
Over the weekend, she said she was reconsidering her decision.
Ms Archer said she believed Mr Rockliff had not afforded her due process over the text message about victim-survivors and had not provided any factual particulars of the disputed claims against her.
At a press conference following the announcement of Ms Archer's resignation, Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson said he was pleased Tasmanians would not be forced to vote in an early election.
He thanked Ms Archer for her contribution to parliament and the Tasmanian community.
"Even though it has ended in some ways on a sour note, the contributions that Elise has made to public life and to the Liberal Party in the state of Tasmania is something that I wouldn't want to be overshadowed," Mr Ferguson said.
Labor leader Rebecca White said the premier needed to now ensure that parliament returned as scheduled on October 17 so it could work on the Commission of Inquiry final report recommendations and other legislation.
"My offer to the premier to provide a pair to offset the absence of a Liberal member for Clark still stands, and Labor - and all Tasmanians - would expect Mr Rockliff to accept this offer," she said.
Mr Rockliff late on Wednesday confirmed that parliamentary sittings would resume from the scheduled date.
He said Ms Archer's resignation was the right thing to do.
"I am hopeful that the events of the past few days open a new chapter in standards and accountability in Tasmania," Mr Rockliff said.
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
