HIGH NOON DOWN TO THE WIRE
Premiership showdown
TASMANIANS will today find out who will emerge from a closely fought ballot to become the state’s next premier.
In a vote caused by the resignation of Premier Will
Hodgman, Treasurer Peter Gutwein and Minister Michael Ferguson will face off in a Liberal Party meeting at noon today in the first contested Liberal Party leadership ballot in nearly two decades.
Jeremy Rockliff and Elise Archer will stand for the position of deputy leader.
Neither Mr Gutwein nor Mr Ferguson has made a public statement to back their bid for the state’s top political office. No Liberal MP has publicly indicated who they will back. Holidaying Health Minister Sarah Courtney and Jacquie Petrusma will vote from overseas.
Betting agency Sportsbet has Mr Gutwein at $1.36 and Mr Ferguson at $2.90.
Mr Hodgman will formally resign before Governor Kate Warner swears in the new Premier.
His replacement in Franklin will be determined by a recount in the coming weeks.
TASMANIANS will today find out who their new premier will be.
Treasurer Peter Gutwein and Infrastructure Minister Michael Ferguson will face off in a Liberal Party meeting at noon today in the first contested Liberal Party leadership ballot in nearly two decades.
Jeremy Rockliff and Elise Archer will stand for the position of deputy.
Mr Gutwein and Mr Ferguson have not made public statements to back their bids for the state’s top political oftake fice to voters — nor has either spelled out their vision for the state.
The leadership will be decided in a closed-door party meeting.
Two holidaying MPs, Health Minster Sarah Courtney and Jacquie Petrusma, will dial in to the meeting and cast their votes from overseas.
Betting agency Sportsbet had Mr Gutwein the favourite yesterday at $1.36 and Mr Ferguson the outsider at $2.90. Insiders say the race is impossible to call.
No Liberal MP has publicly declared who they will be supporting and Will Hodgman, the outgoing premier, will not part in the vote to decide his successor.
The new premier will be announced in a media statement once the result is known and the new leader will hold their first press conference soon afterwards.
Mr Hodgman will then visit Governor Kate Warner and formally advise her of his resignation.
The new leader and deputy will follow soon afterwards to be sworn in and a new cabinet will be announced later in the week.
Human Services Minister Roger Jaensch said yesterday he was confident that whoever won, it would be good for the party and the state, but would not reveal who he was backing.
“What I can tell you is whatever way it goes, we’ll come out with a great leader and a very unified team around them like we’ve had over the last six years in Government,” he said.
“This is an important decision for me to make as part of the Government ... so you take it very seriously, it’s not something that is a flippant decision by any measure,” he said.
“I’ve had discussions with both of the leadership candidates to understand what they say that they can offer our team.
“This is not a deal-making exercise. This is about choosing our leader and we’re spoiled for choice. I’ve not been involved in any dealmaking.
Labor leader Rebecca White said Tasmania was in for a period of instability and uncertainty.
“This is because of the division and the fact that you’ve got a hard-right conservative challenging a moderate, and it has split the Liberal Party,” she said.
“No matter who comes out tomorrow as the premier of Tasmania, what we do know is that about half their colleagues around the table don’t think they’re the right person for the job. And that’s not good for the people of Tasmania.
“What we don’t know is what kind of premier Tasmania is going to have, come tomorrow – what kind of agenda they’re going to have for our state and what kind of values drive them.”