Allegations of misleading parliament and questions over public money spent on "secret" legal matters have claimed a second Tasmanian Liberal minister in less than a month.
Racing Minister Jane Howlett on Tuesday announced she would drop her portfolios and move to the back bench.
The move came a day after calls ramped up for Ms Howlett to resign over allegations her office provided misleading information about election text messages sent in breach of convention.
Ms Howlett's resignation follows Madeleine Ogilvie's on May 30 over accusations she misled parliament about her involvement in a Supreme Court case.
Ms Ogilvie has spent $120,000 of taxpayer money on legal fees - she initially told parliament she wasn't involved in any court matters and then revealed she had initiated legal action.
Ms Howlett has spend $405,000 of the public purse on legal fees.
However, the details of the matters haven't been made public by the government due to "complexities", prompting accusations of a cover-up by their political opposition.
"It is obvious that the relentless personal and political attack on me is causing a significant distraction for the government, which I cannot allow to continue," Ms Howlett said.
"It has been an honour to serve the people of Tasmania across multiple portfolios. I have done so with a total focus on public duty."
Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who has apologised over his handling of Ms Ogilvie's court saga, accused opposing parties of playing political games.
"In recent weeks we have seen a pattern of relentless political attacks that have added to distraction and taken attention away from the work that matters to Tasmanians," he said.
The Liberals, who govern in minority with just 14 of 35 lower seats, will be forced into another cabinet reshuffle.
Ms Howlett held five portfolios in total, some of which she picked up when Ms Ogilvie quit.
Ms Howlett faced more pressure on Monday after a committee was told her office was aware of text messages sent on behalf of state-owned entity TasRacing during the 2025 election.
The message, sent in apparent breach of caretaker conventions, was spruiking a Liberal policy.
In March, a statutory declaration from one of Ms Howlett's staffers said he had no knowledge about TasRacing's plan to issue the communications.
Neither Ms Howlett nor her office were aware the message was to be sent publicly, the government says.
Labor's Ella Haddad said it was disappointing Ms Howlett had chosen to characterise scrutiny as a personal attack.
"Pursuing accountability over ... secret legal fees, or misleading parliament, was never personal," she said.
"It was about upholding parliamentary standards when Premier Rockliff would not. We welcome the outcome that was eventually reached."
