Taking running orders from Mr 17% sums it up for Labor

When former premier Paul Lennon is still calling the shots for the Labor leadership, you know things are not going too well, explains Brad Stansfield

ONE of the No.1 rules of politics is that things are never as good as they seem, nor are they as bad.

Although, this rule would be cold comfort to the Labor Party, which has tumbled from amateurish to abject incompetence in the short time between this column, and my last.

As I said in my last column, it was a huge mistake for Labor to resurrect Rebecca White and think somehow she would be any different to the leader who had previously led them to consecutive defeats.

Leopards rarely change their spots.

And so it has come to pass. When Ms White returned as leader, she promised to end Labor’s factional civil war.

Since then, Labor have lost not one but two elected members.

Losing two elections in a row is one thing, but being able to also lose two elected MPs in a week outside of an election takes a special type of skill.

Almost as bad, just like in the recent election campaign this week, we had the unedifying spectacle of exLabor premiers jumping into the media to tell the current leader what to do, which, just like in the election campaign,

Ms White duly obliged.

When you take your running orders on leadership from Mr 17 per cent and Ms 23 per cent, it really does say it all.

Not that this should come as a surprise to anyone paying attention. Now Liberal member Madeleine Ogilvie belled the cat on this when she was forced out of the party by the Labor factions half a dozen year ago, but no one listened to what she was saying because she wasn’t from the Left.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if Ms White had acted to rein in the factions back then Labor probably would not be where they are now, with no end in sight.

Meanwhile, political life goes on and the government keeps on governing with nary a care in the world.

This week’s budget was solid and workmanlike, delivering on election commitments while choosing to invest more in the health system at the expense of a promised surplus next year.

If the budget lacked in anything it was a clear narrative. Good budgets are more than just numbers, they tell a clear story about what the government’s priorities are and what they are seeking to achieve over the 12 next months and beyond — and in this case that wasn’t entirely clear. Not that it mattered much, you get the impression that the Treasurer could have announced a wholesale slash and burn of the public service and Labor would hardly have put up a fight.

The disappearance of the Opposition has also left a gaping hole in our state’s public discourse right when we need it most — exactly when and how are we going to come out of our COVID-safe gilt cage and re-enter the world?

No doubt, the Premier and his government have done a fantastic job through the last 18 months of Covid, but Covidzero is not going to be an option for much longer, New Zealand has shown us that.

It is only a matter of time before a Covid case pops up here. If we’re lucky and catch it early, the resultant lockdown might only be for the three to five days the Premier has indicated. But just as likely, the virus will have widely circulated in the state before we pick it up and that “short, sharp lockdown” could go on for weeks, or worse — like in Victoria, where their latest “seven day” lockdown is now at 23 days and counting, with no end in sight.

Yet despite this, judging by the comments of Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff this week and in particular his references to “being guided by our public health advice”, there are some indications that the government might not be wedded to the National Cabinet agreement to open our state back up to the rest of Australia and the world at 70 and 80 per cent vaccinations.

At the same time, our previous nation-leading vaccination rates are also starting to lose momentum, and we are now behind the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and New South Wales with the other states catching fast.

Perhaps, just like mainland Australia earlier this year, and then New Zealand, we have grown complacent and wishfully think that we can keep Covid out forever.

The border closures have served us well to date.

However, continuing to operate with our drawbridge up to most of the nation is bad for families, bad for business and bad for Tasmania.

Tasmanians need hope for the future, and with the budget now done and dusted the government needs to focus on developing a clear plan to return Tasmania to as near as normal as soon as possible, and to start communicating and preparing Tasmanians for a near future where Covid is ever-present in our daily life.

Brad Stansfield was the chief of staff to former Premier Will Hodgman and is now a partner at Font PR. He was engaged by the Liberal Party during the recent election campaign.