Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens Leader
On behalf of the Greens, I warmly congratulate Jeremy Rockliff on becoming Tasmania’s 47th Premier and Michael Ferguson on his elevation to Deputy Premier.
As a new leadership team, they face significant challenges and opportunities.
Dr Woodruff and I strongly encourage Premier Rockliff to prioritise a reset on Covid to protect the health of Tasmanians. The current strategy of unchecked mass infection is both untenable and unsustainable.
Stronger public health measures and messaging are needed to help Tasmanians protect themselves and others from this debilitating virus.
We stand ready to work with the Premier to achieve this necessary reset.
So too on the big social challenges facing Tasmania, including the urgent need to bring forward investment in more affordable homes for Tasmanians.
We also look forward to talking to Premier Rockliff about the need to take real climate action, and protect this island’s vast, climate-positive carbon stores.
It is our sincere hope the Rockliff Government will not be a business-as-usual government, that it will be a courageous government with a culture of openness and transparency that starts at the top.
In making up his new Cabinet, we urge Premier Rockliff to remove responsibility for the Resources portfolio away from Minister Barnett who has demonstrated time and again he is unfit for the job. We also hope to see the new Premier pull Mr Barnett back from his draconian, divisive and dangerous attacks on peaceful protestors.
Now is the time to scrap the failed ‘Unlock the Parks’ policy and begin engaging with the Aboriginal community in an open-hearted manner by advancing land hand backs and moving to co-management of the reserve estate.
The Premier’s predecessor dragged his heels on donations’ reform. Premier Rockliff surely knows it needs to be done to strengthen our island’s democracy.
And, we trust, particularly after the political events of this year so far, Mr Rockliff also recognises the pressing need to restore the numbers in the House of Assembly so the Parliamentary talent pool is deepened, communities are better represented and governance is strengthened.
It is very much in the public interest for the House of Assembly to be restored.