PREMIER’S KNACK OF GOOD TIMING
TIMING plays a critical role in politics. Some are blessed with an uncanny knack to be in the right place at the right time and enjoy the success and good fortune that go with it. For the best part of a decade the state Liberal government has ridden the wave of economic prosperity. Of course, many on the Liberal side of politics will point to good management and to a certain extent they can take some credit for the state’s success. However, state governments have no control over such things as world economic downturns, drought and a global pandemic.
Since coming to power in 2014, for the most part, Australia and Tasmania have enjoyed a settled economy and steady growth. Interest rates have been low, the state’s tourism industry has taken off and employment rates remained fairly high.
That’s not to say the Liberals haven’t shown strong leadership along the way. Prudent economic management when the party took over meant it froze public service pay rises. When the Basslink cable failed, triggering an energy crisis in 2016, it worked to ensure the lights stayed on. More recently, under the leadership of Peter Gutwein, the Liberals led Tasmania through the challenging early days of the pandemic.
Throughout this period Jeremy Rockliff has been a constant and steady leader in the party – spending most of the period quietly in the background as deputy premier until the sudden departure of Mr Gutwein earlier this year.
After a somewhat charmed career up to now, in the coming months Mr Rockliff is perhaps facing the biggest challenges of his political life.
His decision on Monday to defer parliament’s August 5 restart following its winter recess is a sensible move. The Premier has promised the lost week will be made up later in the year and, in the bigger picture, a week’s delay will be of little consequence. It will avoid the potential embarrassment of the party losing votes on the floor of parliament and allow time for the Franklin recount to replace the departing Jacquie Petrusma.
When parliament resumes, Mr Rockliff and his party will face a challenging period, with extra scrutiny over their handling of the Covid surge, the nurses pay dispute, the rising costs of living and energy security.
It is a measure of the pressure Mr Rockliff is under that he elected not to leave the state for the New Zealand trade mission earlier this week, instead sending Primary Industries and Water Minister Jo Palmer.
It wasn’t exactly Hawaii but perhaps the Premier has learnt a thing or two from the errors of others. It also demonstrates that Mr Rockliff understands the importance of timing.