Mr WILL HODGMAN (Franklin - Leader of
the Opposition - Motion) - Mr Speaker, I
move –
That the House take note of the following
matter: the need to maintain Tasmania's good
name.
The good name and reputation of the State of
Tasmania is an asset that all elected
representatives should strive hard to
establish, maintain and protect. Our name,
our reputation, our brand, are all vital
elements of the make-up of our community and
our State, and important to how Tasmanians
think and feel about themselves and the
place they live in. They are also very
important elements in an economic arena -
for example, how we promote ourselves
interstate and overseas. This morning we
have heard the Minister for Tourism mention
the fact that Tourism Tasmania and, indeed,
our tourism sector have again received
international recognition. I place on record
our congratulations for that recognition. It
is very important. We consider our brand and
the way we are perceived in a national and
international framework to be very critical
and it is something that the Government
should pay the highest regard to, because
clearly the actions of the Government and
how they conduct themselves can impact
positively or adversely on our reputation.
The Government has a fundamental
responsibility to ensure that in everything
it does it does not damage our reputation,
our brand and our good standing in the
broader community.
So it is, Mr Speaker, extremely
disappointing to open a national newspaper,
as I did last Friday, and see an editorial
that highlights just how our Government's
behaviour and conduct have brought disrepute
on the State of Tasmania. We have seen over
a period of months now this Government do a
number of things that have indeed damaged
our reputation and brought disrepute not
just upon itself but also upon the very
people who live in this State. I think it is
a great shame and a real pity, because it
does reflect on everyone, it does cause
embarrassment to all Tasmanians, and it does
make one cringe.
Mrs Napier - It undoes the Bacon vision.
Mr WILL HODGMAN - I will just quote -
and it is not to be selective - to put into
context some matters raised in the
editorial. I do note the Premier's comments
about a matter regarding his brother, but I
make the point that, just because the
editorial contains that matter that he says
may well be erroneous factually, that does
not make the rest of it wrong. I will just
put the matter into context by quoting
direct from the editorial, which says:
'Along with the pinot noir, goat's cheese
and timber, Tasmania is rapidly gaining a
reputation for growing dills. First it was
the Premier, Paul Lennon, who earlier this
year demonstrated an astounding
insensitivity to appearances when it was
discovered that he accepted a luxury upgrade
at Melbourne's Crown casino days before
announcing a betting licence would be
granted to Betfair, a joint venture
involving Crown's parent company.'
That is one matter that is identified.
Another one a little later on relates to the
recent revelations regarding the TCC, which
by anyone's assessment, can only be
described as 'fishy' at best and
'scandalous' at worst. The editorial then
goes on to say - and I quote again:
'The appearance of a culture of political
back-scratching has only been exacerbated by
news a controversial development was shelved
before the most recent election - only to be
resurrected after the ballots were counted.'
Since the election we have also seen the
scrapping of Spirit III, notwithstanding the
fact that the Deputy Premier was able to
promote the ferry to his own advantage
during the election campaign. We have seen
the TCC scandal unravel, as I say. We have
seen this Government try to avert proper
scrutiny by attempting but ultimately
failing to abandon the GBE hearings, which
was a disgraceful display of the contempt in
which this Government holds a parliamentary
process and, of course, as was mentioned in
question time this morning, we have had the
Richard Butler scandal. We only have to go
back and look at that, which the Premier
himself conceded was damaging to Tasmania's
reputation, to see the sort of mess that
this Government has managed to get itself
into. It has inflicted serious damage on our
reputation, both nationally and
internationally, and that is very
disappointing. I think Tasmanians quite
rightly feel embarrassed when this sort of
thing happens.
Before the Premier launches another attack
on the editor of the Australian newspaper, I
will also point to an editorial in the
Mercury on 5 July 2006, which said:
'Before the spin doctors, egged on by the
Premier, start trying to paint Bryan Green
as some sort of statesman, we should
remember one thing. It's taken three weeks
for the Deputy Premier to admit he made an
error of judgment ….
Far from being a statesman in finally
fessing up, Mr Green in fact was cornered.
He has been dragged to the confessional. It
has been unedifying and unstatesmanlike so
let's not paint the mea culpa as the actions
of a noble politician.'
There is further comment: 'Tasmanian
politics is starting to smell like
Queensland did under the Joh regime. It's
high time that politicians had a duty of
disclosure to tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth. It is also high time
professional politicians were held more
personally accountable for their personal
negligence and/or incompetence.'
[Time expired.]
