CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
After nearly two decades as a politician himself, and three generations of politicians in the family, Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman has today joined the long list of Liberal Party leaders who resign quickly and quietly with very little explanation.
Two years out from the next state election, Mr Hodgman said it was time for his party to find another rich white person from Hobart to take over as Premier.
Hodgman was first elected in 2002 and was Australia’s longest-serving opposition leader until he became Premier in 2014.
The outgoing Premier was increasingly popular with voters in his electorate of Franklin, polling more than 27,000 primary votes at the 2018 election, which his party says has nothing to do with all the Melbourne boomers moving to Hobart for a tree-change.
However, outside of Tasmania, Hodgman’s retirement highlights yet another flaw in the Australian political system – where it is increasingly normal for politicians to just jump ship whenever they feel like.
Even more concerning for mainlanders is the revelations that Tasmania actually has a Parliament, which is also hilarious.
It’s especially hilarious when considering more people live in Greater Newcastle than the entire Apple Island combined.
In fact, most residents north of the Bass Strait just assumed Tassie was one of those weird external territories that were just thrown into a Melbourne MP’s electorate.
However, Hodgman’s retirement shows that this is not the case, as the 12 Liberal MPs from Tasmania scramble to find a new Premier.
Even more concerning is the Federal representation of the half a million people in Tasmania get to have just as many senators as states like NSW, VIC and QLD – meaning a Tasmanian’s vote is 14 times more powerful than someone who lives in the mainland.
