Sue Neales, The Mercury
THE political future of Tasmania’s Deputy Premier Bryan Green is in turmoil after he admitted yesterday to serious mistakes and misjudgments in dealings with the Tasmanian Compliance Corporation.
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Sue Neales’ comment, Excerpt:
Mr Green may claim the deal was not about favours for Labor cronies. But so, too, did the Premier claim late last year that he was able to separate his personal free entertainment at the Melbourne Cup courtesy of Crown casino from Government business dealings he was currently having with the casino’s owners, PBL. Once again, perception and propriety are proving serious problems for this Government and neither Mr Green nor Mr Lennon seems able to grasp the depth or seriousness of the issue.
Excerpt from comment by Sue Neales:
The issue is that Mr Green has shown he has no idea of what is appropriate and correct behaviour for a Minister of the Crown. And that should concern every Tasmanian.
And that raises the other big issue: cronyism within the Lennon Government.
Mr Green claims not to know TCC owner and director Mr White very well and not to have been influenced in his dealings with him by the fact Mr White was a former Tasmanian health minister.
But it is an inescapable fact that the only beneficiaries from this deal were two Labor mates: Mr White and his TCC partner, former Queensland Labor minister Glen Milliner.
Mr Green may claim the deal was not about favours for Labor cronies.
But so, too, did the Premier claim late last year that he was able to separate his personal free entertainment at the Melbourne Cup courtesy of Crown casino from Government business dealings he was currently having with the casino’s owners, PBL.
Once again, perception and propriety are proving serious problems for this Government and neither Mr Green nor Mr Lennon seems able to grasp the depth or seriousness of the issue.
And:
But the Premier cannot possibly believe this is the end of the matter.
He now has to publicly confront the issue of what values, standards and ethics he expects from his ministers.
The question now for Mr Lennon has to be: Is this really the best political behaviour that your Government can offer and the Tasmanian public deserves and gets?
