Golf swing was bad but the decision, maybe not

It was interesting to hear former Liberal premier chief of staff Brad Stansfield having a crack at Premier Jeremy Rockliff on the latest Font Podcast. Mr Stansfield was critical of Mr Rockliff and his team’s decision to post a video of himself having a swing and a miss at a golf ball during a day on the course a few years back.

He went on to talk of rumblings in the Liberal party and cabinet intimating that his time as leader might be coming to an end.

It was a suggestion Hobart Mercury political editor David Killick broke in an article in December 2022.

Mr Killick’s assessment of the premier’s predicament was similar.

“Rumblings from within the Liberal ranks suggest simmering discontent about the direction and priorities of a government under its third leader in eight years. There are some – at the conservative end of the party – who think too much time and political capacity is being expended on peripheral issues.

“Premier Jeremy Rockliff has increased the size of parliament, backed an end to Australia Day, and a ban on sexual orientation and gender identity conversion practices. For some, there are more important things to be putting front and centre.”

But Mr Killick also went on to say that both the Labor leader Bec White and Greens leader Cassie O’Connor were also under pressure from people in their own parties to perform.

Intimating that it wasn’t out of the realms of possibility that three new leaders could be battling it out in the 2025 state election.

But returning to the point of that golf swing and if it was a good or bad decision to post the video online.

Yes, it was an awful swing, one not many would be proud of, but the Premier’s decision to post the video to social media shows a politician who is not afraid to poke fun at himself.

It was a real moment and one many golf hacks from around Tasmania could easily relate to.

In a time of modern politics dominated by spin with leaders too afraid to allow anything potentially negative to get out, it’s a refreshing insight into the Premier’s character.