Coroner & Legal
Liberals question land deal ‘kickbacks’ for ex-Premier
Tasmania’s Human Services Minister has been asked whether former Labor Premier Paul Lennon received “kickbacks” under a scheme to help low income owners build a home.
Under the scheme, Housing Tasmania land was transferred to the Brighton Council to build affordable homes.
Under questioning during a budget estimates hearing, the Liberals’ Jacquie Petrusma asked Cassy O’Connor whether Mr Lennon provided consultancy work in the transfer, and got what she called “kickbacks”.
“This land was transferred on the result of Mr Lennon lobbying for this land to go to Brighton Council and then, at the end of the day, the person who benefits the most financially from this parcel being transferred to the Brighton Council is Mr Lennon,” she told the hearing.
Ms O’Connor said it was not a mass transfer of land and protections had been built into the contract with Brighton Council.
The ABC has contacted Paul Lennon for comment.
• James Crotty, in Comments: Dyer’s portrait captures much but not all of what is Lennon. Dyer fails to portray the brooding menance, the rat or pitbull cunning or tenacity. The huge disappointment with Lennon was that although he is a great and natural leader of a particular sort of person the leadership that he provided was forever sectarian, forever divisive, forever confined within notions of disputes and wins over opponents. He is portrayed in the difference between a general who could fight in a war and the effette politician he despised who could build a peace. I don’t know him now. Hopefully he has changed. I doubt it.