When Premier Jeremy Rockliff returns to work tomorrow he owes it to Tasmanians to let them know where he stands on the candidacy of controversial conservative lower house hopeful Eric Abetz.
Ever since Mr Abetz publicly confirmed that he was seeking pre-selection, social media and newspaper letters pages have been awash with commentary from concerned Tasmanians who are horrified by the prospect of the dumped former senator’s dangerous social views returning to the public domain.
Unfortunately for those concerned Tasmanians, Mr Abetz re-entering the political fray is another clear sign that the conservative forces within the Liberal party are taking over.
It’s hard to believe that the timing of Mr Abetz sticking his head-up – literally the day after the Premier went on leave – was a coincidence.
They say when the cat’s away, the mice will play, but the reality is that the conservatives have been at great unrest for a while now, and the Premier has been helpless in reigning them in – even when he’s not on leave.
Under Rockliff’s trademark weak leadership, entire branches of the Liberal Party membership have quit in disgust, branches are in recess, several ministers have gone and two back benchers quit the party altogether.
Just this week respected economist Saul Eslake warned that economically speaking, it looked like Tasmania could be going back to where we were in the 1990s after 10 years of a Liberal government.
It seems that forces within the Liberal party are determined to take Tasmania back even further in time when it comes to social issues.
Scarier still, is that the Premier – who claims to be champion for social progress – looks too weak and powerless to stop them.
Luke Edmunds MLC
Labor Member for Pembroke
