Josh Willie MLC, Labor Member for Elwick, 7 July 2023
Now it’s open revolt
The extent of division and unhappiness within the Rockliff Liberal minority government has once again become evident with the extraordinary revelation that the entire government media office was on the verge of resigning en-masse last week.
The Australian’s Matt Denholm has, for the second time in a week, revealed the extent of internal dissent within the Rockliff minority government.
This time it’s open revolt, with the entire government media office on the verge of quitting last week in response to the extraordinary appointment of lobbyist and public relations firm Font PR to run the government’s media.
The government media team, charged with spinning the government’s image, is now obviously leaking to the media against the government – about the government’s woes, lack of direction and about how unhappy they are.
The appointment of Font PR by the Premier is yet another example of extremely poor judgement by the Premier who continues to come under pressure. Mr Denholm’s piece referenced members of the local PR industry believing the arrangement should be referred to the state’s Integrity Commission.
No wonder the Premier has gone on holidays to get away from yet another debacle which is all of his own making.
Mr Rockliff looks like a defeated man at present after taking his government into minority and with Michael Ferguson circling like a hawk.
The government has lurched from one disaster to another this year and this latest episode is emblematic of a government that is paralysed and split by internal dissent, division and lack of direction.
While the government is wracked by division and dissent and focused on themselves, Labor is getting on with the job of focusing on the important issues the people of Tasmania want action on and care about – health, housing and cost of living.
Media release – Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 6 July 2023
Businesses need certainty and stability from Tasmanian MPs
The Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the voice of business in Tasmania. In recent weeks, there has been speculation that there may be an early election in the state.
The TCCI CEO, Michael Bailey, has urged MPs to stop the speculation and instead focus on the community and how as a state, we are going to tackle the challenges headed our way.
“The Government has made it clear that they will not call an early election,” Mr Bailey said.
“The only thing that speculation and gossip is going to do is create uncertainty. Uncertainty damages business confidence and that affects the entire community, because businesses become more reluctant to invest or employ more people. It’s an economic own goal and we can’t let that happen. We already have enough challenges to deal with without making up new ones.
“What we do want to see though is a battle of ideas for how our elected representatives will help the community deal with the challenges headed our way. It’s been refreshing to see strong debate on issues like power prices and we need to focus on those sorts of discussions rather than creating fodder for political doomscrolling about early elections.”
