‘Twas interesting to hear David Bartlett using 7ZR talkback (4/5/05) to push one of my points – the only reason Liberal leader Rene Hidding is talking up the prospects of an early Tasmanian election is to protect and prolong his own inept and ineffective leadership.
(The chickens come home to roost)

Jeez Dave, thanks for the attribution – I suggest your appointment as Tourism Minister and this is the thanks I get. Bloody hell – it’s Probes and the meromictic lake all over again!

Seriously though, Bartlett also used his stint on talkback to deny that an early state election will be held, something obvious to us all.

I know I’ve said it all before, but the ALP is hardly likely to go to an early election while sitting on a budget windfall. As well as ignoring all the pork barrel potential of the 2005 budget, which will take some time to actually spend, an early election will also throw Ken Bacon’s replacement to the wolves.

It’s not going to happen. The ALP will hold onto government for as long as possible before chucking some kind of circuit breaker into the electoral equation; if they want to retain the reins of power, this particular government will have to change perceptions by making some kind of bold/crazy/brave move prior to the 2006 election.

Given Paul Lennon’s association with the problems the government is facing, particularly the perception that it lacks compassion, I reckon we’ll see his retirement prior to the next election in favour of his erstwhile ally Paula Wreidt, making Bryan Green the obvious choice for the deputy premier/headkicker role.

Wreidt is already well established in the minds of voters, so she’ll have no trouble dealing with the usual newbie issues. She has also spent years dealing with educational issues and is percieved has having that oh-so-valuable quality, compassion.

The promise of a return to the good guy-bad guy “stability” provided by J. Bacon and Paul Lennon is the spinner’s dream revisited and is the strategy most likely to bring the ALP a 4th term.

But Paula will have to do much better than her recent and VERY uncomfortable public analysis of her government’s current electoral woes; apparently, it’s all the fault of one K. Bacon.

As Wreidt is now the Tourism Minister, I expected to hear more about changes to Kenny Bacon’s actual decisions, but we’ve yet to hear a peep out of her regarding the litany of ridiculous choices made by our log truck driver’s union rep/former Tourism Minister.

Hunter island, Paula? Entally House? The Blue Tier? Recherche Bay?

It seems the “play the man, not the ball” policy of the Tasmanian Government extends to ministerial responsibilities, mea culpa’s and Paula Wreidt; apparently, while Bacon was on the nose and caused a drop in support for the Tasmanian Government, the actual decisions he made still smell like roses.

And pigs fly.

Cheers All,
Jason Lovell