Liberal chief to walk

WILL Hodgman’s chief of staff Brad Stansfield will step down from the role after the State Election.

The Mercury can reveal that the day before Mr Hodgman called the election on January 28, Mr Stansfield told colleagues at a gathering to welcome the campaign that it would be his final election for the Tasmanian Liberals.

After questions from the Mercury to the Liberal Party, Mr Stansfield wrote on his Facebook page that he would move on from his position as Mr Hodgman’s chief of staff.

“Will and I discussed the matter last year and agreed I would stay on to support the Government’s re-election,” Mr Stansfield wrote.

“No date for my departure has been set, but of course there will be time enough for the (hopefully) newly re-elected Government to settle back in, and a new CoS selected.

“Now’s not the time for too much reflection — there’s a campaign to win after all — other than to say it’s been a great privilege to hold the role; and to assure everyone that I will be working dawn till dusk for the next 23 days to ensure the Government’s re-election.”

A former adviser to Tasmanian Senator Eric Abetz, Mr Stansfield was credited with the disciplined campaign that resulted in the Liberals being elected in 2014.

But he has been hounded by concerns from grassroots party members who believe Mr Stansfield — described by coworkers as a bare-knuckled fighter who managed to have his head around a remarkable number of issues during his time in government — wields too much power.

Mr Hodgman paid tribute to Mr Stansfield.

“Brad has been a very committed and dedicated chief of staff, an extremely demanding job, for many years,” he said.

“He is totally committed to being a key part of the team campaigning for a re-elected majority Liberal government, and he will leave with my best wishes and thanks after the election.”

When the Liberals won power in 2014, leaked Cabinet notes showed Mr Stansfield as attending Cabinet meetings.

Last year he was on a $233,000 to $270,000 pay bracket. It is unknown what Mr Stansfield will do after stepping down.