Tas: Bartlett comes up trumps in turbulent week

AAP General News (Australia)
04-09-2010
Tas: Bartlett comes up trumps in turbulent week

By Patrick Caruana

HOBART, April 9 AAP - Tasmanian premier David Bartlett has emerged from a turbulent
election campaign looking like a political genius.

Or incredibly lucky.

The 42-year-old Labor leader secured the premiership this week, despite his party being
plagued by scandal and allegations of corruption during its most recent term of government.

He had promised to give his Liberal counterpart, Will Hodgman, first chance to form
government if both parties had the same number of seats but the Liberals secured more
primary votes.

That's exactly the result the March 20 state poll delivered - with a 12 per cent swing
against Labor - and Mr Bartlett advised Governor Peter Underwood to allow the Liberals
the first chance to form government.

Both parties had refused to negotiate with the Greens.

But since the Greens had pledged conditional support for Labor, the governor directed
Mr Bartlett to test his numbers in the lower house and for Labor to form a minority government.

A furious Mr Hodgman called it an "illegitimate government".

Mr Bartlett said he had kept his promise.

But the premier also earned a stern rebuke from Mr Underwood, who said it was not for
Mr Bartlett to decide who should govern.

"The commissioning of a person to form a government is entirely the governor's prerogative
and it is not within the gift of any political leader to hand over," Mr Underwood said.

"The total number of votes received by the elected members of a political party is
constitutionally irrelevant."

In releasing his reasons for commissioning Mr Bartlett to form government, Mr Underwood
said it was the only logical conclusion.

"I came to the conclusion that Mr Hodgman was not in a position to form a stable government,"

he said.

"Consequently, I was obliged to send for Mr Bartlett.

"I ... told him that as he was still the holder of my commission to form a government
and the premier of the state, he had a constitutional obligation to form a government."

Upon receiving his commission, Mr Bartlett was promising to ditch the "old paradigms"

of government, reminding assembled media on several occasions that he actually wanted
the job.

"You will see from me, in the future, a different premier," Mr Bartlett said.

"(I'll be) a premier who seeks at all times to build trust across parliamentary divides."

Greens leader Nick McKim was also talking about harmony, despite Mr Bartlett saying
before the poll that he personally had no trust in him.

"It is beholden on everyone in parliament - Labor, Liberal and Green - to deliver stability
and good government for Tasmania," Mr McKim said.

"We can and must make this work."

Monash University political expert Nick Economou said Mr Bartlett had proved himself
a very clever politician during the election campaign and in the poll aftermath.

"He looks brilliant today," Dr Economou said.

"Maybe there's more to this guy than we thought."

Tasmania previously has had two minority governments which relied on Green support.

The 1989-1992 Labor-Greens accord saw the ALP bundled out of office at the next election
with its lowest ever primary vote, of 28.9 per cent.

An informal Liberal-Greens minority government arrangement lasted just two years, between
1996 and 1998.

But Dr Economou said Mr Bartlett had some chance of making the latest alliance work.

"They will get a lot of adverse reaction if they go back to the polls early," he said.

"I would imagine that what we might see is an agreement between Labor and the Greens
which will run for two, maybe three years, and then there'll be a lot of teeth gnashing
and anguish as we head to the end of the term.

"But the agreement could last longer than that. The only major thing they disagree
on is the Gunns' pulp mill."

Dr Economou said Mr Bartlett had outshone his Liberal opponent.

"I think Mr Hodgman's poor performance has come out," he said.

"I would suggest that he's performed poorly in the election campaign and in the post-election
period.

"He has been completely out-manoeuvred by Mr Bartlett."

Dr Economou said Mr Hodgman's commitment not to do a deal with the Greens at any stage
confirmed his status in opposition.

"I don't think there's any basis on which Mr Hodgman can claim that he legitimately
ought to be premier," he said.

"If he decided to deal himself out of making an agreement with the minor party holding
the balance of power, then he's very foolish.

"The polls were saying this was going to happen, and it has happened before. I'm struck
by the naivety of Mr Hodgman's position."

It would not be long before Mr Hodgman's leadership came under question from the party,
Dr Economou said.

"This is a very disappointing result for the Liberals," he said.

"There's no job in the Westminster system worse than being opposition leader.

"Oppositions, because they've got nothing else to do, will always turn in on themselves."

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