The Good Name of Tasmania

Will Hodgman, Press Release

Tasmanian Liberal Leader, Will Hodgman, said anyone who read The Australian last Friday would know Tasmania’s reputation had been badly damaged by the Tasmanian Compliance Corporation (TCC) affair and the handling of it by the Premier and his Deputy.

(Earlier references to the Good Name of Tasmania)

Media Release

Tasmanian Liberal Leader

WILL HODGMAN, MHA

Tuesday July 11, 2006

Labor damaging Tasmania’s good name

Tasmania’s Premier and Deputy Premier are damaging Tasmania’s good name through their involvement in a series of scandals over recent months.

Protecting Tasmania’s good name is the reason Mr Lennon relied upon when explaining why former Governor Richard Butler had to go, at the same time as insisting Mr Butler had never done anything wrong*.

Tasmanian Liberal Leader, Will Hodgman, said anyone who read The Australian last Friday would know Tasmania’s reputation had been badly damaged by the Tasmanian Compliance Corporation (TCC) affair and the handling of it by the Premier and his Deputy.

Its editorial headlined “Rot at the core of the Apple Isle”, said Tasmania was rapidly gaining a reputation for growing dills and concluded that if Bryan Green could not come up with a cogent explanation for his dealings, he should step down.

Mr Hodgman said it simply wasn’t good enough for Mr Green to use an apology to refuse to answer basic questions about all of his dealings with TCC from 2004 to the eve of the election.

“Why is that protecting Tasmania’s good name was so important to Mr Lennon in 2004 and Mr Butler had to go even though he’d done nothing wrong; but the Deputy Premier stays when he’s admitted gross wrongdoing that has damaged our name?

“Mr Lennon refused in Parliament today to explain his inconsistencies.

“He’s hoping that diversions will make this issue go away, undoubtedly realising he has made the biggest mistake of all in not demanding the sort of standards of his Ministers that Tasmanians expect, and which he imposed when he first became Premier.”

And,

Media Release

Deputy Liberal Leader

JEREMY ROCKLIFF, MHA

Tuesday July 11, 2006

Deputy Premier’s record of failure

Deputy Premier Bryan Green has a history of making misleading statements and mistakes.

It’s hard to imagine how his Premier and colleagues can have full confidence in him, in light of the latest serious error to tarnish his Ministerial career.

Far from being a one-off, the Tasmanian Compliance Corporation scandal comes after Mr Green:

· admitted he took a “passive approach” to the Meander Dam, which resulted in the government losing the unlosable appeal in the Resource Management and Planning Appeals Tribunal, that taxpayers have been paying for ever since;

· told GBE hearings in February 2003 that the government had not looked at selling the Grain Elevators Board. The sale was announced a month later, and former Treasurer, David Crean, said it had been discussed by government for months;

· was asked at monthly meetings with Private Forests Tasmania last year whether land clearing controls were on the agenda as part of the Community Forestry Agreement he was helping to broker. Mr Green falsely said no; and

· was running around during the election campaign saying that only Labor would keep Spirit III, only for it to be axed within a few months.

Deputy Liberal Leader, Jeremy Rockliff, said other errors included Minister Green’s handling of the salmon import fiasco – where his promise to fully prosecute a blatant breach of laws was never fulfilled – and the state in which he has left the Energy portfolio, with major concerns about the viability of Basslink.

Mr Rockliff today asked the Deputy Premier to explain how stakeholders in the economic development and resources areas could have any confidence in any decision flowing from his office.

“Bryan Green just does not seem to understand that there is more to being a Minister and a Deputy Premier than the next election. There are serious responsibilities to fulfil and on current and past form he’s just not up to them,” Mr Rockliff said.

And,

Media Release

Tasmanian Liberal Leader

WILL HODGMAN, MHA

Tuesday July 11, 2006

TCC scandal a vote-winner: Bryan Green

Deputy Premier Bryan Green believes his involvement in a scandal that has rocked Tasmania is a vote-winner.

The astonishing claim was made in Parliament today and shows that the embatted Minister does not get it, further demonstrating his unsuitability for high office.

Tasmanian Liberal Leader, Will Hodgman, said he couldn’t believe Minister Green could be so arrogant to claim his personal vote would probably rise to 20,000 as a result of the Tasmanian Compliance Corporation scandal. Mr Green received about 15,000 votes last time.

“This Minister just does not understand the seriousness of what he has done and is even looking at it to furnish his vote,” Mr Hodgman said.

The revelation comes as further serious questions surround the version of events presented by Minister Green when he was forced to apologise for signing a secret deal two days before the election was called giving a company run by Labor mates a monopoly in accrediting builders.

The Liberals have been told the advice Minister Green claims to have not seen was prepared by a senior member of Crown Law.

It’s understood Tasmania’s Crown Law Department is at a loss to explain how the Deputy Premier was not aware of it.

The Deputy Premier was implored not to sign the Service Level Agreementwhich was labelled illegal and contrary to the public interest.

It was also stamped urgent.

“This casts fresh doubt on the embattled Deputy Premier’s claim that his adviser who received this Crown Law document said nothing of these concerns. That’s unbelievable,” said Tasmanian Liberal Leader, Will Hodgman.

Mr Green has admitted talking to this adviser on the day he signed the deal.*

What makes his story even more unbelievable is the fact it appears this adviser is still employed by the Minister.

“Minister Green has come up with a version of events that takes Tasmanians for fools,” Mr Hodgman said,

Mr Hodgman believed the Attorney General, Steven Kons, had seen this advice.

But in the continuing cover-up, Mr Kons refused to confirm or deny the details of the Crown Law advice.

Mr Hodgman said the only way Labor could clear the matter up was to table the legal advice received by Minister Green’s office from Crown Law and to stop coming up with excuses for keeping details of this scandal under wraps.

* Hansard, Wednesday July 5. Bryan Green:

Nevertheless, advice received from an officer from the department of 14 February 2006 was that the document could be proceeded with, with some reservations expressed about clause 9 of document. The advice that it was okay to proceed was subsequently verbally confirmed to me by the officer of the department just before I signed the document on 15 February 2006.